The Colonial Roots of Poverty in the Philippines, and how it continues to exist up to now

The New York Times (TNYT): ‘There’s no other Job’: The Colonial Roots of Philippine Poverty

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A very interesting and Must-Read Article by The New York Times (TNYT) on the Reasons why Poverty remains in the Philippines and why I think our Country continues to be the BASKETCASE or 'KULELAT' Country even only in South East Asia (SEA) up to now titled, ""There’s No Other Job": The Colonial Roots of Philippine Poverty"

Basically what the Article says is this: When Spain colonized the Philippines, Catholic Missionaries seized Lands from the Native Filipinos and established the Feudal System where other Filipinos were forced to work for them and their Filipino Collaborators. 

When the United States (US) took over control of the Philippines from Spain, they didn't enforce a full Land Reform or redistribution of the Land like they did in other Countries they controlled with in the Asian Region. They didn't because they wanted to retain control of the Country thru the Oligarchic Families that collaborated with them. 

Worse still was that the US also tried to control the Philippines' Economy by enacting Laws that made it Economically dependent on them, like allowing Agricultural Products to be exported to the US without Taxes and thereby to me meant encouraging the continued presence of the Feudal System. 

At the same time, the US insisted that the Philippines import Products from the US without Taxes, thereby making the Country dependent on these Products and also in my Opinion discouraged it from making its own Products. 

Even after the Philippines' supposed "Independence" back in 1946 after World War Two (WW2), the US insisted that as a Condition for giving Usd 620 million in Reconstruction Aid, it could not determine the Price of its Currency as opposed to the US Dollar without their approval. 

The Philippines itself has been unable to enact a true and widespread Land Reform Program up to now, many Families still control large Tracts of Land in the Country where Filipinos are still being held Poor using a more modern and updated Version of the Feudal System.  

IMHO, this is also the Reason why the Philippines continue to fail as a Country, much like the many Countries in Latin America which are also Basketcases in the World, thanks to the combined rule and destruction of Spain and the US. Here are some Excerpts from the Article itself: 

* "Six days a Week, Mr. Sawan, 55, a Father of five, tows Batches of Fruit that weigh 1,500 pounds to a nearby Processing Plant, often as Planes buzz overhead, misting down Pesticides. He returns Home with Aches in his Back and daily Wages of 380 Philippine Pesos, or about $6.80.

One day last Year, the Plantation bosses fired him. The next Day, they hired him back into the same Role as a Contractor, cutting his Pay by 25 percent.

“Now, we can barely afford Rice,” Mr. Sawan said. Still, he continued to show up, resigned to the Reality that, on the Island of Mindanao, as in much of the Rural Philippines, Plantation work is often the only work."

* "Because the United States opted not to engage in large-scale redistribution of Land, Families that collaborated with Colonial Authorities retain Oligarchic control over the Soil and dominate the Political Sphere. Policies engineered to make the Country dependent on American Factory Goods have left the Philippines with a much smaller Industrial Base than many Economies in Asia."

* "Yet in most of the Philippines, Factory Jobs are few, leaving Landless People at the mercy of the Wealthy Families that control the Plantations. Manufacturing makes up only 17 percent of the National Economy, compared with 26 percent in South Korea, 27 percent in Thailand and 28 percent in China, according to World Bank data. Even Sri Lanka (20 percent) and Cambodia (18 percent), two of the poorest Countries in Asia, have slightly higher Shares."

SOURCES: 

* TNYT Website: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/30/business/philippine-economy-colonial-legacy.html

* Archived Link at the Web Archive: https://archive.fo/QqLs9

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