Economic Strengths of the Philippines and its contributions to the ASEAN region

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ASEAN has its objectives to promote cooperation between its member states

and to progress the economic growth of the countries part of this region, which includes

our country Philippines. With the help of this economic integration, our country

progressed and boosted its economic growth from the services we received from other

ASEAN countries. The Philippines also contributed to the economic integration of

ASEAN, and here are two economic strengths of the Philippines.

Our workforce is one of our country’s economic strengths, the Philippines. As we

all know, Filipinos are talented and trained professionally to work internationally, which

is why there are many OFWs in other Asian countries. Our contribution to the ASEAN is

our workforce, as it allows our people to transfer their talents and skills to other

countries easier. Other countries need workers that acquire professional skills due to

their lack of workforce in some services. An example of this is in medical services; when

the pandemic emerged, countries from ASEAN experienced a shortage of healthcare

workers that might affect the services provided in hospitals. Filipino nurses are being

recruited abroad to fill the workforce shortage in the ASEAN countries, at the same

time, help in boosting the economy’s GDP growth from the remittances our OFWs send

back (Aldaba, F., 2015).

Another contribution of the Philippines’ economic strength to ASEAN is our

foreign trade in the agriculture sector. Exporting our local products, such as rice, greatly

contributes to the agricultural business sectors of our neighboring countries as it gives

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them opportunities to reduce business costs from the imported products they are

receiving. Simultaneously, the products we export also help us gain export earnings that

can help boost our country’s economic growth. In the article by Editorial, B. (2019), the

country’s export earnings from bananas and canned pineapple reached a total of 1.7

billion dollars. These food exports that we make in our country contribute to the

economic integration of other countries in the ASEAN region, as it allows countries to

have a wider selection of products and, at the same time, help expand the volume of

international trade between ASEAN countries.

To conclude, the Philippines has made many contributions to the economic

integration of ASEAN countries, such as in the foreign trade industry and our

workforce. Our country’s economic strengths make our economic growth sustainable. At

the same time, it enlarges the ASEAN market to continue the free flow of goods and

people between countries in the region of ASEAN.