Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

San Pablo City Campus

C OLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION– GRADUATE STUDIES AND APPLIED RESEARCH

Center of
CHED Memo #17, s2016
Development

COURSE CODE: SOCSCI 207

COURSE TITLE: Current Issues and Trends in Education
PROFESSOR: Dr. Lucila Palacio
REPORTER: Andrea Hana B. Deveza

1-2. Climate Change : We’re facing the biggest environmental challenge our generation
has ever seen. No matter what we’re passionate about, something we care about will be
affected by climate change. Over the past 150 years, we’ve changed the balance of our
planet by living beyond our means. We’ve burnt huge amounts of fossil fuels (such as
coal, oil, gas), bred huge amounts of methane- producing livestock and cut down vast
swathes of forests, which would naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Forests are
vitally important as they soak up carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible
for global warming, and help regulate the world’s climate. They’re also home to countless
plant and animal species.
Rivers and lakes supply drinking water for people and animals and are a vital resource
for farming and industry. Freshwater environments around the world are already under
excessive pressure from drainage, dredging, damming, pollution, extraction, silting and
invasive species. Climate change only exacerbates the problem and makes this worse.
Extremes of drought and flooding will become more common, causing displacement and
conflict.
Oceans are vital ‘carbon sinks’, meaning that they absorb huge amounts of carbon
dioxide, preventing it from reaching the upper atmosphere. Increased water temperatures
and higher carbon dioxide concentrations than normal, which make oceans more acidic,
are already having an impact on oceans. Coral reefs are particularly at risk. Sensitive
coral and algae that live on it are starved of oxygen, causing dramatic bleaching and
possibly the eventual death of the coral. If global warming remains on its upward path, by
2050 just 5% of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef – will remain.
It’s not only a tragedy for wildlife: around half a billion people rely on fish from coral reefs
as their main source of protein.
Terrorism : Terrorism is defined as a deadly act which causes fear in peoples lives. It is
mainly caused because of the hate towards certain group of people. The weapon of
terrorism targets the non-combatants in order to achieve an objective through the use of
deadly acts is termed as terrorism. These acts are also similar to the acts performed
during the freedom struggle in many countries, but the act of terrorism has a vast
difference with the freedom struggles. There are several reasons for the act of terrorism
as portrayed by the media experts. They are poverty and economic disadvantage,
ethnicity, religion, inferiority problems, government suppression.
The best reasons for many of the people to become terrorists are dedicated to the cause
of religion. Though this is not a terrorist religion, many terrorist uses Islam as a medium
to achieve their objectives. Terrorism is one of the deadliest acts prevailing in the world.
There is no country without terrorism. Destruction of infrastructure, killing of non-
combatants is the results of Terrorism. Terrorism is prevalent in countries like Pakistan,
Africa, Iraq and Palestine where poverty has engulfed the lives of the people. Poverty
causes many innocent people to target non-combatant to get rid from hunger. This has
also been advantageous for the militant groups to target these people by offering money
and influencing them to join their groups. These innocent people join these terrorist
organisations to save their families from poverty. These people become an instrument to
execute the commands of the genuine terrorists. “Rich are getting richer, Poor are getting
poorer”.
Terrorists use violence on non-combatant people in order to achieve a particular goal like
releasing of the prisoners, for money or for the holy war. The causes of terrorism in the
minds of people can be blamed at the government who didn’t suppress the issues at the
initial stage.
Economic Issues : One of the most frequent problems is that economic decisions can
have external effects on other people not involved in the transaction. For example, if you
produce power from coal, the pollution affects people all over the world (acid rain, global
warming). This is a particular problem because we cannot rely on the free market to
provide the most efficient outcome. If we create negative externalities, we don’t take them
into account when deciding how much to consume. This is why we can get
overconsumption of driving a car into a city centre at peak hour. If everyone maximises
their utility, it doesn’t lead to the most efficient outcome – but gridlock and wasted
resources. Externalities, usually need some kind of government intervention. For
example, taxes on negative externalities (e.g. sugar tax) or subsidies on positive
externalities (e.g. free public education) But, even the solution to market failure (e.g.
taxes, creates its own potential problems, such as how much to tax? will there be tax
evasion?).
Inequality is considered a problem because of normative opinions such as – it is an unfair
distribution of resources. Also, you could argue there is a diminishing marginal utility of
wealth. If all wealth is owned by a small percentage of the population, this reduces net
welfare. Redistributing the money to the very poor would enable a greater net utility to
society. Inequality is a problem. However, it is also a problem to know how much we
should seek to reduce poverty. Many will agree on the necessity of reducing absolute
poverty – but how far should we take it? Should we aim for perfect equality (Communism)
or should we aim for equality of opportunity? Another issue with reducing poverty is that
measures to reduce poverty may cause unintended consequences – e.g. higher income
tax on high earners may create disincentives to work. Giving benefits to the low paid may
reduce incentives to work.
Power : Power affects individuals in ways that help maintain the status quo, facilitating
power holders’ attainment of their aims and desires, while hindering goal pursuit and self-
expression of powerless people. This is one reason why social inequalities are difficult to
alter. Social inequalities are the result not only of the distribution of resources and
opportunities but also of self-fulfilling prophecies that emerge in power relations. A non-
relational conception of power misses these effects that frequently occur in asymmetric
relations of power.
3. As one of the members of the community and citizens of our nation, it is our
responsibility to be active participants in our society. Since both of us are aware on the
issues that are country is facing, we chose to talk about the top 4 current issues in the
Philippines.
Listing all the issues and breaking it down to top 4, we chose the issues that have great
impact to our country in social, political, economic and international aspects. These are
the issues that needed immediate action and effort both in the government and us,
citizens.
We ranked the issue on poverty as the first, because we believe that this is the biggest
problem in our country as experienced by the common Filipino people. Although, we,
Filipinos are responsible to our own welfare, it is still undeniable that the government has
also a responsibility on this issue. We think that the possible reasons for this are the
unemployment, low wage of the workers, less job opportunities, inefficiency of providing
the needs of the Filipinos, and the poor governance.
Since we also observed that graft and corruption in our government is often heard in the
news, we ranked this issue as top two. We then categorized this issue into two: the pork
bark issue and the non-pork barrel issue. Pork barrel issue here refers to the recent
hottest issue about the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, which involved Janet
Lim Napoles, as the mastermind, and the three senators namely: Ramon “Bong” Revila
Jr., Jinggoy Estrada, and Juan Ponce Enrile as the three powerful persons indicted by
the anti-graft court in a massive corruption scandal that has riveted the nation. On the
other hand, the non-pork barrel issue here refers to the issue on corruption not related to
the PDAF scam. This issue involved our present vice president, Jejomar Binay, on the
issue of overpriced buildings in Makati and also Alan Purisima on the issue of his SALN.
We then ranked the increasing crime rate as the third issue. As we heard in the news, the
often crimes committed were mall shootings, murders, unsolved media killings and
hulidap. We believe that these crimes are very alarming to the people because even
though we are in our own home we cannot be sure of our own safety. Also, more crimes
mean that we are living in an unsafe and unharmonious society.
Lastly, our top 4 issue is the territorial disputes. In the year 2014, we’ve heard a lot of
times about the territorial disputes between our country and the Republic of China. This
territory is the Scarborough Shoal located west of the Palawan. The issue is still unsolved
and the government is resolving the matter in a diplomatic way.
In conclusion, we believe that it is not only the government who should all take the blame
but us also Filipinos. According to William E. Channing – “Government resembles the wall
which surrounds our lands; a needful protection, but rearing no harvests, ripening no
fruits. It is the individual who must choose whether the enclosure shall be a paradise or a
waste”. It means it is up to us if we want to live in a country where progress and
development can be seen not only economically but also progress within our morals as
Filipinos.
To elaborate these major social problems :
Poverty :
Agriculture is the main source of income for rural inhabitants, primarily in farming and
fishing. Most farmers and small landholders live in areas that are prone to natural
disasters or conflicts. Declines in agricultural productivity, unsuccessful small landholder
farming operations and unsustainable practices have caused deforestation and
weakened fish stocks.
Over a third of the rural inhabitants in the Philippines are impoverished. Indigenous
people residing in these areas experience higher rates of illiteracy, unemployment and
poverty. A lack of access to productive capital and limited market access has created
slow economic growth and underemployment. The rural poor have limited options for off-
farm employment and low access to inexpensive financial services.
The majority of poor Filipino households have only achieved basic levels of education. At
least two-thirds of poor households are headed by an individual with an elementary level
education or below. Additionally, most poor families have minimal access to health and
education services.
Poverty levels in the Philippines are affected by unrestrained population growth. The
average poor family in the Philippines consists of six or more members. Similar to other
countries, impoverished regions typically have higher birth rates. In rural areas in the
Philippines, the average woman will have 3.8 children compared to the cities where the
average woman will have 2.8.
Four out of 10 poor families in urban areas do not have decent living conditions. Most of
the poor households in urban areas reside as informal settlements in slum areas of major
cities like Manila. These homes do not include proper facilities and also are bad for the
environment. These settlers typically move to major cities from other provinces in search
of better economic opportunity and livelihood.
Moderate economic growth has not resulted in poverty reduction. The average annual
GDP increased by only 0.63 percent per person between 1980 and 2005. Incidents of
inequality among regions have also continued to increase, hindering the reduction of
poverty. The country’s economic growth is directed at Manila and the two bordering
provinces. This prevents distant provinces from sharing the benefits of prosperity.
The Government of the Philippines utilizes social protection programs to provide poor
families with direct assistance. Impoverished families can receive cash assistance
through a conditional cash transfer program. The program requires all families to enroll
their children in school and vaccinate their children with government-provided
immunizations.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is working in the Philippines
to improve the incomes and food security of rural populations. IFAD primarily focuses on
women, fishers, small landholders and indigenous people residing in fragile ecosystems.
Recent projects and programs are intended to improve the environment with natural
resource management and sustainable access to land. Projects also include skills for
managing soil and water along with support for fishing communities.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been focused on improving poverty-related issues for the
country’s poor. President Duterte signed an executive order to pass a law that
makes contraception free and more easily accessible to the poor. Duterte is
also improving infrastructure with new roads, bridges and airports as a result of a planned
increase in expenditure. Such improvements will better connect impoverished
communities to Manila and thus bring opportunities for better jobs.
The government of the Philippines created AmBisyon 2040 and The Philippine
Development Plan 2017-2022 in efforts to reduce poverty. Both plans aim to improve
living conditions for the poor and reduce poverty by 15 percent by 2022. To achieve this
goal, it is recommended these policies work towards creating more jobs, improving
productivity in all sectors and educating Filipinos with the necessary skills for work in
today’s economy.
Graft and Corruption :
Corruption is one of the most serious social issues the Philippines faces today. It is
the spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. Corruption may include many
activities including bribery and embezzlement. Government, or ‘political’,
corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an
official capacity for personal gain. Basically, it means the selfishness of one individual in
order to pursue his or her self-interest. This devious act may result to harsh circumstances
for the victims, like poverty.
In recent years, there have been evident discoveries of this act executed
within the Philippine government. The most recent and famous would be the priority
development assistance fund or the Pork Barrel scam. Each Government official is given
a certain amount of money in order to pursue their desired projects to help financially
challenged Filipino citizens in order to rise out of poverty and for the development of the
Philippines as a whole. But recent discoveries have shown that these projects were never
put into action and the money would go to a bogus non-government organization led by
Janet Lim Napoles. It was then discovered that these officials spent the money for their
own personal desires. Billions of pesos were stolen from the Filipino people. The money
would have helped the country’s current situation but it all went to unworthy government
officials.
The Philippines has a history of corruption and it can be dated back to the
Spanish colonization. Spanish colonizers took control of the Philippines for over three
hundred years, during their reign they established a bureaucracy headed by friars and
other high positioned Spaniards. Business was set up particularly for the greater good of
Spain and the Philippines did not benefit from these whatsoever. A good example would
be the encomienda system where Filipinos worked in a farm and an encomiendero (tax
collector) was tasked to collect money or the produced goods. The encomiendero would
be very corrupt and use the goods for himself. Latter, the system was abolished because
it was very corrupt.
The Philippines has a history of corruption and this may be the reason why
officials are still corrupt to this day. But history should not be an excuse and citizens
should find ways in order to end this act of fraud. There are numerous ways of trying to
prevent or totally eliminate this from happening. One can be the transparency of the Pork
Barrel or PDAF. It should be explained to the people or credible representatives where
the money goes and what projects do officials pursue. Another can be the total eradication
of the Priority development assistance fund in order to eliminate this idea of corruption
completely. Solutions should be made in order for corruption to stop in the Philippines. It
has been going on in this country for more than a century and it is unacceptable. The
government should find ways to eradicate this for the development of the Philippines.
Crime Rate :
The Philippines government has long been ineffective at solving crimes, many of which
are categorized as being heinous. Rampant crime has plagued practically all levels of
Philippine society, and their occurrences have largely been attributed to the weak and
useless systems that characterize the government, especially those mechanisms within
it that are meant to address the crime problem.
The crime problem has taken its toll on the lifeblood of the nation’s socioeconomic
situation. Crimes have tremendously affected the country’s economic growth. A large
segment of our people has lost confidence in the law-enforcing agencies of government.
Many fear that tragedy might suddenly strike them in broad daylight. Stories from the
newspapers (particularly the tabloids) are sufficient to send tingles down the spine. One
thing is certain: Filipino society is crime-ridden and the government is helpless at
effectively checking and containing the already serious and increasingly more serious
crime problem in the country.
Common causes of criminality can be traced through sociological and behavioral studies
of the human condition. It is a fact of life that crimes occur only in the human sphere, and
social relations are therefore a major aspect in approaching the issue of criminality. With
this point of departure, we can objectively mention some factors that have been identified
by professional practitioners engaged in the study of criminality, among whom are
psychologists, sociologists, criminologists and others.
Poverty. In a society like the Philippines, where poverty is a given, no second thought is
needed to ascertain that in one way or another, poverty causes criminality. Crimes are
committed in areas where the urban poor live, and their occurrence is quite regular.
Poverty may not be strictly identified as a direct cause of crimes but certain circumstances
brought forth by and within a situation of poverty cause them.
Abuse of Power. Another prominent cause of crime in Philippine society is somehow also
related to our economic condition. It is not the type of crime perpetrated by people in a
situation of poverty but one that terribly affects them. It exploits the economic weakness
of the poor, and none but the poor are the unfortunate victims of its ravaging onslaught.
This cause of crime is: abuse of power.
Widening Gap Between the Poor and the Rich. In view of the powerful people’s
oppressive and exploitative attitude towards the poor and marginalized sectors of the
Philippine society, crimes brought about by the abuse of power have tremendously
affected the country’s economic situation. Oppression and exploitation in themselves are
basically crimes that further manifest themselves as obvious criminal acts like property
grabbing (which is actually robbery), property destruction and murder.
Inability to Industrialize Nationally. A desperate act of the powers that be in their desire to
concentrate more wealth and opportunity into their hands is the utilization of huge
capitalization from big foreign investors. By pushing the poor against the wall of further
poverty, the powers that be have gained access to the manipulation of the country’s
economic resources for the benefit of foreign investors, who in turn have given the local
capitalists the upper hand to engineer a devastating blow to national industrialization.
Territorial Dispute :
In 2002, China and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed
the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that aimed “to resolve
their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the
threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states
directly concerned” (ASEAN 2002). This has created a tense stalemate that can change
at any time. Tensions increased when the Sulu Sultanate from the Philippines attacked
North Borneo in early March 2013. North Borneo is part of Sabah, a member state of
Malaysia that has claimed the Spratly Islands.
There are several historical, political and economic reasons behind these countries’
territorial claims over the Spratly Islands. Ideally, the Spratly Islands should go to the
country that is most equipped and most qualified to sustainably develop the islands’
resources and protect their diverse marine ecosystems; however, that is no small feat
and none of the five countries involved in this territorial dispute are known for their green
technology. Some have called for military intervention by the United States. Smaller
countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have been fighting China’s
military intimidation for the past 20 years (Lohman 2009). China’s historical claim to the
islands is weak; however, its strong military intimidation has kept it a key player in the
Spratly Islands dispute.
Some argue that the Philippines should take sovereignty over Spratly Islands because it
has had the most success and experience with maintaining marine ecosystems, plus the
islands are well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Philippines has
almost 10% of the world’s marine protected areas (MPAs), which were created in
response to the country’s rampant cyanide and dynamite fishing in the 1970s and 1980s
(Yan 2012). No one can pass through, fish or dive in MPAs except to conduct scientific
research. With more than 500 MPA sites within Philippine waters, the government as well
as the military is highly experienced in dealing with marine ecosystems and management.
However, the Philippines is not a perfect country. Despite its success, there are still
lingering problems within Philippine politics that should be solved in order to effectively
address the dispute over the Spartly Islands.
The 1951 United States-Philippine Mutual Peace Treaty implies a role for the United
States in addressing this territorial dispute and supporting the Philippines, but so far the
United States has remained fairly aloof. Yet the Philippines is the strongest ally of the
United States among all the countries vying for the islands. It would be advantageous for
the United States to support the Philippines’ claim over the Spratly Islands because the
United States can benefit from the resources from the rich ecosystem and the strategic
location of the islands. Unfortunately, the United States has refused to take sides on the
matter. The United States Department of State released a press statement stating that
they are closely monitoring the issue but will not take a position on the matter (Ventrell
2012). This almost ignores the Philippines involvement in the dispute and shows that
despite the Philippines’ history of cooperation with the United States, they are doing
nothing to support their strongest Southeast Asian allies.
Without United States support, the Philippines is reluctant to make aggressive claims over
the Spratly Islands in fear of military retaliation from China. Sadly, the situation is not
getting any better as the United States has been showing reluctance in helping the
Philippines in environmental matters. Instead of advocating for more United States
support, the Philippines has kept relatively subdued about the issue. A controversial
journalist from the Manila Bulletin writes, “The Philippines is a weak republic that, like a
church mouse, occasionally roars like a lion, and settles down like a lapdog”.
4. Reverse discrimination is discrimination against persons of a majority group, such as
whites, males, or people of a certain age.
Examples :
Reverse discrimination in the workplace occurs when members of a majority group are
prevented from gaining a particular job, promotion, or type of employment because the
employer has an intent to hire minorities based primarily on their minority status.
Affirmative action came of a belief by some that certain minority groups should be
compensated for past discrimination. Opponents of affirmative action have expressed
concern that the policy has gone too far, and gone on too long.
Much gender-based discrimination traditionally favors men over women.
The feminist movement, which despite its many schisms largely seeks to promote
equality by sharing the advantages many men take for granted with women, is sometimes
seen as a restrictive presence or even a vengeful one that supposedly seeks to
take away the rights of men. This is really only true if (1) you tar the whole of feminism
with the beliefs of a small fringe element, or (2) you think it is a man's right to crack
"women-get-back-in-the-kitchen-jokes" without being thought of as a buttmunch. Certain
"Men's Rights" groups are fond of calling the wahmbulance by claiming feminists are
sexist towards them.