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Cruz, Ronnel Josh O.
Digital Cinema Track

Filipino fishermen have always been deprived of freedom regarding our own resources in the sea due to the oppressive and destructive moves of Chinese people within the vicinity of our country. Despite the diplomatic protest that our government has done, foreign vessels continuously linger in the West Philippine Sea (Mangosing, 2021).

Just this January 2021, a fisherman said they were being blocked by China Coast Guard Ship and the threat goes on with their everyday lives (Santos, 2021). This is rooted from the claims of China that the West Philippine Sea is part of their country. However, per the decision of the judges in International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Beijing has no legal basis to claim that they have “historic rights” in the sea—which means, the case is in favor to the Philippines. Even proven by objective legal factors, China continues to interfere with what belongs to us. The sea is much important to the Philippines because besides from the fact that it is part of our country geographically, it also has massive amount of natural resources that may contribute to the growth of our economy (Gavilan, 2021). The wealth of the sea is being consumed by the abusive foreigners day by day, which then affects the economic side of country—those riches could have been enjoyed by our hardworking fishermen and the market of sea products. Not that this issue only fosters political conflict among Philippines and China, but it manifests economic conflict as well. As a matter of fact, fishermen in Zambales lost approximately 70 percent of their income due to the continuous and increasing presence of Chinese ships in Panatag Shoal (Ropero, 2021). Indeed, a loss in our economy. This economic and political issue implies a great conflict to peace because the natives along the seashore are threatened by what these Chinese seafarers and workers could do to them. To connect, besides owning our resources, Philippine fishing boats are being sunk by their vessels as well (Talabong, 2019). This conflict affects the life of Filipinos—literally.

Both negative and positive peace couldn’t be obtained because China has always been in our territory trying to pipe out our natural resources that legally belong to us. It is a threat to our nation because if they will continue to use our wealth just for their own good, a bigger conflict to peace may happen—such as using more of what we have.

Reference

Gavilan, J. (2021). FAST FACTS: Why the West Philippine Sea is Important. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/environment/things-to-know-importance-west-philippine-sea/

Mangosing, F. (2021). Chinese Ships Linger in West Philippine Sea Despite Diplomatic Protests — US Think Tank. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1505526/chinese-ships-linger-in-west-philippine-sea-despite-diplomatic-protests-us-think-tank

Ropero, G. (2021). Filipino Fishers Lose 70pct of Income Due to Chinese Incursions: Group. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/27/21/filipino-fishers-lose-70pct-of-income-due-to-chinese-incursions-group

Santos, D. (2021). Filipino Fisherman Recalls Being Blocked by China Coast Guard Ship. Retrieved from https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/1/27/China-Coast-Guard-ship-blocks-Filipino-fisherman-Pag-asa-Island.html

Talabong, R. (2019). LOOK: Philippine Fishing Boat Sunk by Chinese Vessel in West PH Sea. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/232960-photo-filipino-fishing-boat-sank-by-chinese-vessel-west-philippine-sea/

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Poverty and Over Population in the Philippines

Poverty in our country is caused by a variety of factors. First is having irresponsible leaders or government officials. The issue of corruption arises when, after many years, there are still officials who use their position and authority to obtain money from our coffers and use it for their own interests, such as "wants," rather than for the citizens' "needs" and for our nation. However, I have also believed that citizens make mistakes, which are not necessarily the fault of the government. This is referred to as overpopulation. Not having a suitable family plan is one of the reasons for poverty, and nowadays, childbirth occurs at a young age, adding to our population. The resources will not be sufficient for all of us. Consequently, individuals will not receive the items that they truly require. Another issue is a lack of career options, and not having greater pay also contributes to poverty.

A huge portion of our people is unable to work since there are restrictions and high criteria for employment. To be accepted for a job these days, candidates must have a bachelor's degree and work experience. When they are not working, they work in low-wage positions that do not provide enough for their basic needs and those of their families. Climate change, in my opinion, is also a component of poverty. In my opinion, it does not affect all employment because there are so many hardworking farmers in our nation who work tirelessly for their families. When the dry season starts, farmers have a terrible time growing their plants. When this occurs, they are unable to make things and will not be able to earn the money that they will use to provide for their family.

As a working student, I have noticed many people who finished college with a 4-year-course. I am working in a BPO company and have heard many stories from my colleagues who took a medicine course, who wants to be a flight attendant, who wants to be an engineer but decided not to pursue their dream job because of the salary that they would be getting. It’s sad to hear because they don’t have a choice since we all need the money for us to survive.

Poverty and overcrowding harm not only our family but the entire country. In conclusion, Filipino citizens would have difficulties in surviving in several situations in life. People are also becoming unwell because of hunger since they do not have the energy to work and do not make enough money. As a result, the pace of our country's economic growth is slowing. We must constantly be prepared and have a plan in place if we are to have a better life and future. Especially when you have a family. When considering having children in the future, each person should be financially, psychologically, and emotionally prepared. When you become a community leader, you should also be a role model and a positive example to the people that you’re surrounding with and to your environment.

When deciding, consider how it will influence others. Our country should provide more chances to all citizens, not just the wealthy. We should be paid fairly and have more career options. As a result, poverty and overpopulation have been long-standing issues that must be addressed as soon as possible to ensure a better and brighter future.

Reference:
Cause of poverty in the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.ipl.org/essay/Cause-Of-Poverty-In-The-Philippines-PCGRALC35G

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Francisco,Owen M.(Digital Cinema Track)

When it comes to economic conflict in the Philippines, Poverty is the first thought that comes to

In my mind, particularly education, “People gain basic skills and increased job opportunities through education, which can help to combat poverty in the Philippines”(De Leon,2018) wherein if you are not well-educated, opportunity can be hard for you even though you are a hard-working person. For example, the Vendors and The Corrupt Government where It’s a little bit unfair wherein the Government is still the root cause of conflict in our country particularly poverty.  According to the lecture, we need to resolve the conflict first and we need to be able to look through it in a different perspective. For example, if we are able to resolve conflict in the government, if poverty ends, we all could have a good education and people will have more opportunities which will be a good start for our economy.

In order to meet peace, we need to look through the cause, which is poverty, and should not be ignored, wherein we need to be able to address it in a way we should understand when we see poverty in the Philippines. Moreover, Poverty is not really the root cause, it is one of the reasons that we should look through it in a larger picture.

In my Opinion, it is a step by step process. ”The Philippines demands a great leader right now. There’s no denying that our country is dying for a leader that will go all the way to end poverty or whatever misfortunes we Filipinos are dealing with right now.”(Acadeo,2020)  Indeed we still have a lot of corrupt governments in our country.Moreover, we should re-elect competent leaders who can resolve economic conflicts. We can’t deny that there are a lot of corrupt governments in the Philippines. We deserve a leader that ends poverty and let the hard work of every Filipino be paid for whatsoever we are dealing with right now. We should be careful who we vote on and take some time to think of it.

It’s time for us to vote for a leader who has good intentions, A leader who doesn’t steal, who has respect and inspires us in a way he or she will keep his or her promises. Therefor, if we elected a Good leader, it could end our economic conflict and everyone can have access to education wherein a lot of opportunities for the People in the Philippines, moreover, there are challenges and it is a step by step process in order to achieve it and remember that poverty us just one of the causes in economic conflict, and conflict can come from a different points. Lastly, we should understand that there are a lot of conflicts that cause it that is why it is called multidimensional.

Reference:

De Leon D.(April 18,2018)

Combating Poverty In The Philippines Retrieved February 26,2022, from:

https://borgenproject.org/tag/poverty-in-the-philippines/#:~:text=The%20Philippines%20has%20a%20fairly,struggle%20to%20afford%20basic%20necessities.

Acadeo(February 03,2019)

QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER-EVERY FILIPINO SHOULD KNOW Retrieved February 26,2022 from: https://aboutcagayandeoro.com/10-qualities-of-a-good-leader/

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Tria,Honeyleth L. (Convergent Media Track)

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Tria,Honeyleth L. (Convergent Media Track)

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Responding to our situation is a must as of today. One of the major conflicts that we must confront now is how the government takes action or respond to this situation. As the Pandemic started in 2020, The Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Many people suffer from the current situation that we are facing, this pandemic causes loss of jobs,  having an insufficient food supply, and health, sanitation, and nutrition issues decreasing quality of education. Due to the lack of readiness of the Government, Filipinos have witnessed and felt several defects and blunders that result in a lot of conflicts in this pandemic.

COVID-19 brings sudden change that almost shocks all of us into reality, many Filipinos are in a lot of anguish, especially those in the poorer sections of the country. This pandemic has been the basis of a conflict that has expanded and built more other concerns that haven't been addressed in the same way. One of the examples is the lack of employment ever since this pandemic started many people lost their jobs due to the closed business and infrastructure because of the fast spread of the virus. Despite this Pandemic, an election is fast approaching, where the pandemic is slowly fading into the news and in the mind of each people. Elections have been one of the focuses as of today. People have forgotten that we are still in a pandemic, and we still have no solution for this virus that keeps on spreading, and an action to bring back our economy to normal.

The root causes of this conflict reflect the lack of preparedness of the government, which resulted in a lot of wrong actions and unsure solutions. The government has demonstrated its inability to deal with such a situation. Even though we now have vaccines and boosters, they are insufficient to cover the wounds produced by this epidemic, particularly the wounds caused by the government. Some politicians still prioritize their selfishness and use their power for their needs and own purposes while the people who don't have the powers and normal citizens go suffer, seeking assistance and help for them to live and get their basic needs for everyday life. Many Filipino families have lost family members, while employees have lost their jobs. Filipinos have suffered terribly and we need a solution that will help not just us but all of us to bring back and rise up our economy.

Peace cannot achieve having all of this kind of conflict, We Filipinos should face the reality and open up our minds, in choosing people who will lead and guide us all, we should not be controlled by other people because we all have our freedom and it is our right as a human, In order for us to have peace we must acquire the feeling of satisfaction and positivity in all aspects. Despite all the conflicts and hardships that we are facing we must still think positively and hope for the peace that we all want.

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Pia, Joanna Marie C. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Pia, Joanna Marie C. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Peace and the Non-violent Communication Framework are somehow related. In the TedTalk, Engels said that sometimes violence is formed if a person does not immediately meet why it is started or why it is felt. To establish Peace, people must observe the issues happening in society or the country. People should know about these issues and express what they think if the issues affect their lives or are not helpful to the community. By telling this, people should start raising their concerns and getting out of their comfort zone because the issues are beginning to get out of control, and last, people should ask what they need because they are the one who knows what is best for them and to the society.

The first case of SARS-Cov19 was confirmed in Cebu City in January 2020. However, President Duterte insisted he would not close the Philippine border because it is difficult, especially since China does not do the same thing, and some Filipinos are still there. Also, the Department of Health Secretary, Duque, said that there is no reason for the Philippines to close its borders because some countries are not doing the same thing, and the virus is not spreading (Peralta, 2020).

Unfortunately, due to non-immediate response to the request of the people, COVID-19 continuously spread in the country and established Lockdown on March 15, 2020. In this case, the people did not receive Peace because of the non-immediate making of a decision. This decision affected many people, especially those who did not have a proper job and only received the minimum wage. According to Gutierrez (2020), the people did not receive Peace with the decision made by President Duterte, and it became the reason why many people went hungry and lost their jobs. Some citizens also complain because they only rely on government assistance, but others are not qualified for their implementation assistance. Some said they would not die because of the virus but starvation. This decision was even more unfair because many people affected their mental health, especially when President Duterte said to kill people who violate restrictions. Also, this is an additional problem for students because not all students are privileged to have their gadgets and internet, especially online classes that have been implemented nowadays.

The root cause of this decision is politicking and privileges. According to Abad (2021), the mistake of 2020 is a lesson in 2021. But in reality, it is not like that. In March 2021, the National Capital Region and the four provinces around it experienced a lockdown again. With that, some people stop working again and lose their source of income, and their only way to live and eat is through government assistance. But due to that, some affected people did not receive it again. Some people complain that some privileged families are getting the help first before them and end up getting nothing.

To sum it up, people will not receive Peace if privileged people continuously steal it and neglect people’s needs. Freedom should be received by all people, especially if people only want a good life and in their lives.

References:

Abad, M. (2021, April 8). What went wrong in 2020 COVID-19 ‘ayuda,’ lessons learned for 2021. RAPPLER. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/explainers/coronavirus-ayuda-government-aid-what-went-wrong-2020-lessons-learned-2021/

Gutierrez, F. (2020, May 2). Solidarity and sharing in an unequal society: Covid-19 in the Philippines. openDemocracy. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/solidarity-and-sharing-unequal-society-covid-19-philippines/

Leckman, J. F. (n.d.). What is peace? | Early Childhood Peace Consortium. Early Childhood Peace Consortium. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://ecdpeace.org/work-content/what-peace

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Mallari, Gianina F. (Convergent Media Track)

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Mallari, Gianina F. (Convergent Media Track)

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Isko Moreno’s Clearing Operations: The Street Vendors’ Dilemma

If you grew up in Manila, or probably visited different places in Manila several times, or are even just a suki in Divisoria, you probably would have noticed major changes along the streets. The once dirty and crowded streets in Divisoria became exactly like the opposite: it is now free of litter – AND street vendors. Imagine walking along those streets without dirt and noise pollution caused by these factors. Pretty good, isn’t it? Good for Manila, then. But what about the affected sectors – specifically the street vendors – who are in need of a daily source of income but were kicked out of these places?

In his first term as Manila City’s Mayor in June 2019, Isko Moreno officially started the cleanup operations – one of the plans he campaigned for when he was still running for the seat. The objective of this project is to clear the streets that were filled with litter and trash that were dumped and scattered along the streets, including the shopping stands of several street vendors that became the cause for clogged streets and shrinking urban spaces. The clearing operations, according to Moreno, was his way of addressing the congestion problems in Manila and possibly a way to solve heavy traffic, which are indeed among the major problems that are still prevalent in this country. (Beltran, 2019) Based on the results and support that were achieved during the first wave of the cleaning operations, it has been successful and is intended to continue among other jam-packed streets in Manila.

Several street vendors were forced to pack their products and leave the place to execute Moreno’s plans to decongest the streets in Manila. According to the street vendors interviewed by Rappler in July 2019, they were not given a prior notice when the operations took place. They were ordered to clean up their area and were told that things will be taken care of, but they added that assistance still hasn’t come even after the cleanup drive. In a press briefing within the same month, Moreno said that he was eyeing an alternative shopping area to provide for the street vendors where they could continue their businesses permanently. (Magsambol, 2019) He added further that if street vendors want to run their shops, they should follow what has been implemented in the rules: maintain cleanliness and make way for people and vehicles. (Madarang, 2019)

This now goes with the point that it was the street vendors’ doing as to why the streets are clogged and congested. In fact, one of the street vendors mentioned that jeepney drivers who load and unload passengers in the middle of the road cause traffic in the streets of Manila. (Magsambol, 2019) But because they were ordered by the public officials to halt their businesses “for the meantime” while the LGUs find some ways to solve yet another conflict resulting from the clearing operations, the street vendors have no choice but to wait for Moreno’s relocation plans for them to set up their shops again. However, waiting for a nonexistent plan compromises the wellbeing and source of income to these affected sectors, especially to those who have to feed their family everyday.

Several shopping stalls along the streets are not a “nuisance” in the streets of Manila. Nor are those jeepney drivers who pick-up passengers in the middle of the road. This problem stems heavily from the lack of sustainable development alone that also affects the living of these sectors.

This certain issue about economic change needs a broader perspective on how development should be carried out. While it is important to eliminate factors that hinder growth and development, it is also essential to think of possible consequences that may affect the sectors in the long run. Everyone wants an efficient and sustainable change. Everyone wants to benefit from economic developments. After all, sustainable development is supposed to solve societal lapses and provide the needs of the constituents without compromising the rights and comfort of certain groups. In the case of Isko Moreno’s cleanup operations, he achieved the “New Manila” kind of development through his project, but failed in achieving a sustainable development where all needs – including the affected sectors – are met.

References:

Beltran, M. (2019, October 22). Swept Aside, Where Are the Philippines’ Street Vendors to Go? The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/swept-aside-where-are-the-philippines-street-vendors-to-go/

Madarang, C.R. (2019, July 25). Mayor Isko Moreno’s reasons for a major Manila makeover. Interaksyon Philstar. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2019/07/25/152236/isko-moreno-manila-makeover/

Magsambol, B. (2019, July 15). Divisoria vendors to Isko Moreno: ‘Give us another chance’. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/nation/235421-divisoria-vendors-ask-isko-moreno-give-another-chance/

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Gumayagay, Melissa N. (Digital Cinema Track) 

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Gumayagay, Melissa N. (Digital Cinema Track) 

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Over population: Teenage Pregnancy

An economic conflict I would like to discuss, that I believe, is very much relevant in the Philippines until now is the teenage pregnancy. Sex Education is still seen as “taboo” in Filipino families. But why is it?

I would like to discuss two root causes: Filipino culture, and Poverty.

After Spain conquered Philippines for 333 years, the Filipino culture that we see now has some Spain culture influences such as language, food and religion. According to Philippine Statistics Authority (2015) 92% of the Filipinos are Christians; 81% are Roman Catholics and 11% are Christian groups (Protestants). Since Catholicism is so prevalent among Filipinos, its rules and policies are enforced when it comes to sex debates. This religion taught us to be "conservative" as a gesture of respect and to maintain the image of being "pure" because society feels that this is ethically correct and should be applied to all. In the Philippines, sex is considered a "sin" or “moral decadence” as Commission on Population and Development said (2020), among youths, unmarried couples, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. As this thinking continues to occur in the Filipino culture, it dismisses the important learnings that the teenagers should need to learn.

Even though the Department of Health (DOH) established a Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) Kto12 Curriculum Guide, which also includes CSE trainings for teachers, it appears that this is insufficient to get their message to teenagers concerning pregnancy. (CNN, 2021). One factor I can think of is "privilege," as not everyone has the financial means to enroll in school due to their poor circumstances, and as a result, the health authorities' messages would not reach their intended audiences. As a result, overpopulation potentially constitute a risk to the Philippines' economy, according to the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2017) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), young women with a greater educational background are more likely to obtain knowledge than those who do not have access to education and are more likely to become pregnant early (7% vs. 10%). Teenage pregnancy may also be a burden for Filipino families who do not earn enough, as it adds to their financial responsibilities. Most companies want complete college degrees when employing people, and because these young women may not have the opportunity to continue their education it might be difficult for them to get a job to earn money to support their child.

To conclude, the government must provide health services that are suited to the understanding capability of their target audiences in order to address this economic conflict. These materials, for example, could be disseminated in Tagalog. Another one is, in order to maximize the time spent promoting sex education in the Philippines, the government must provide budget to financially support these local community programs. Free health services must be provided, particularly in rural areas where education is much required. I'd also like to include the usage of social media to disseminate this information, because most teenagers spend the majority of their time on their phones, even though who are in rural places, and social media apps like Facebook and Tiktok can be utilized to educate and enlighten them. And entertainment can serve as both a source of educational information and a source of enjoyment.

References:
De Irala, J., Osorio, A., del Burgo, C. L., Belen, V. A., de Guzman, F. O., del Carmen Calatrava, M., & Torralba, A. N. (2009). Relationships, love, and sexuality: What the Filipino teens think and feel. BMC Public Health, 9(282). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-282

Delgado-Infante, M. L., & Ofreneo, M. A. P. (2014). Maintaining a “good girl” position: Young Filipina women constructing sexual agency in first sex within Catholicism. Feminism & Psychology, 14, 390-407. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0959353514530715

Gipson, J. D., Gultiano, S. A., Avila, J. L., & Hindin, M. J. (2012). Old ideals and new realities: The changing context of adolescent partnerships in Cebu, Philippines. Culture of Health & Sex, 14, 613-627. https://doi. org/10.1080/13691058.2012.684222

GOV PH. (2021). Negative Impacts of Teenage Pregnancy in the Philippines. https://nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/mindanao/region-ix-zamboanga-peninsula/4931-negative-impacts-of-teenage-pregnancy-in-the-philippines#:~:text=Early%20childbearing%20may%20result%20in,economic%20losses%20to%20the%20country

Joven, J. (2021). Do we actually have sex ed in Philippine schools?. CNN Life. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/Education/2021/11/5/sex-education-philippine-schools.html

Philippines Statistic Authority. (2015). Religious affiliations. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/ content/religious-affliation

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Rivera, Drink Water V. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Rivera, Drink Water V. (Digital Cinema Track)

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CONFLICT OVER INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S ANCESTRAL LANDS

In so many years, despite of the rich natural resources that surrounds their community, the indigenous people (IPs) in the Philippines are still in the margins and outskirts of the society. They belong to the most disadvantaged sector and poorest among people in the country. Their community are often left ignored by the government and deprived with rights and opportunities that can be beneficial in their development to adapt in certain changes in the society. De Vera (2007) declares that there are 110 indigenous groups in the country that are mostly dependent on its agriculture and available areas in the upland. Since they are residing in a remote area, where access to basic services are lacking, a high incidence of mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition are most likely to happen (De Vera, 2007). Apart from that, they are also victims of the on-going armed conflicts in the country where in most people in the group were arrested, killed, displaced, and tortured, being accused as a member of armed opposition group (Ty, 2010).

The continuing struggle and problem of the indigenous people lies with their ancestral lands and resources (Molintas, 2004) and their struggle to provide for their basic needs. This highlights the economic dimension of conflict since it emphasizes the conflict between the government and indigenous people regarding their ancestral lands and the economic status of the indigenous people in the country. Being part of the minority group, the indigenous people have no power and control with their lands because private sectors and the government are continuously dominating the operation in their lands. For the indigenous people, land is their treasure and it’s sacred because they even inherit that from their ancestors since time immemorial that is why they are so much eager to protect and defend their ancestral lands not only because of their relationship with it but also this is where they get their food and other necessities. It is no longer a matter of cultural preservation but their livelihood also depends on it.

A series of development projects by the government and private sectors is the root cause of these conflicts between the indigenous people and the government. Taking the Kaliwa dam project of the government as an example. Imagine a lot of indigenous people living in the area will be displaced in their lands if this project will push through, not to mention the impact and harmful effects of it in the biodiversity in the area (Estrada, 2021). This project threatens the people as well as the environment since the construction of the project is under of an ancestral domain which is home for 5000 Dumagat-Remontados indigenous people (Estrada, 2021). Not only their place is at stake but also their livelihood is affected if the project will continue.

With regards to peace, the implication of this conflict lies in taking into consider the people that will be affected in the development projects of the government. This conflict would have been at ease if the government should at least secure a Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in efforts to give respect to the indigenous people. Yes, development is good for the country but at what cause and what expense? Development should be beneficial for all and should not be for a certain group of people only.

REFERENCES

De Vera, D. (2007). Indigenous peoples in the Philippines. RNIP Regional Assembly, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Estrada, L.P. (2021, January 4). [OPINION] Why should the construction of Kaliwa Dam be stopped? February 26, 2022 https://www.rappler.com/voices/ispeak/opinion-why-should-construction-kaliwa-dam-stopped/

Molintas, J. M. (2004). The Philippine indigenous peoples' struggle for land and life: challenging legal texts. Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L., 21, 269.

Ty, R. (2010). Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines: Continuing Struggle. February 25, 2022 https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2010/12/indigenous-peoples-in-the-philippines-continuing-struggle.html

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Aguilar, Francis Zion E. (Convergent Media Track)

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Aguilar, Francis Zion E. (Convergent Media Track)

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Lack of Employment during Covid-19 Pandemic.

A lot of us are suffering from the current situation that we are in; pandemic gives us many contributing factors that affects us, mainly, lack of employment becomes the huge trend nowadays, but even pre-pandemic lack of employment still exists. People who are unemployed are the one who got affected by the catastrophe, especially, the minimum wage earners. The sudden shift of physical activities to online set-ups wasn’t easy, digital world becomes our weapon to continue our daily routine. Majority of the population pursue a lot of jobs, like, online businesses to be exact, just to support the needs of their family.

As we all know that in order for us to survive, we need to afford some essentials like, water, food, clothes and shelter, this are the basic needs of a person, but we need money to acquire this thing but what if we’re not employed, how we will earn the money? Lack of employment can cost the economy a big fortune. According to Pologeorgis (2021) when someone is employed, they got compensated by their employer, as a result they have the necessity to afford on the essential needs of on individual. This is one of the contributing factors of how unemployment affects the economy.

There’s a lot of factors why lack of employment peaks at its highest especially today. Primarily, one to the cause of unemployment is Covid-19 Pandemic, because of the threat brought by the virus, first, people are scared to go out of their comfort zone because the severity of the consequences by going outside is dangerous. Second, since people are not allowed to get out, businesses, organizations and even public sectors decided to lessen the cost of their finances by cutting their staff. For many businesses, layoffs are the first line of defense against financial ruin. However, executives considering layoffs, as well as when and how to begin recalling workers, must weigh a slew of strategic concerns and traverse a complex of statutory provisions controlling compensation, perks, and disclosure regulations (Zeidner, 2020). In addition, lack of employment can also lead to poverty. The basis of the lower classmen, or unemployed individual, is one of their advantages is having a stable work to refine their daily life (United Nations, 2007)

The relevance of conflict in being unemployed during the pandemic to peace has an involvement to everyone at stake. Being unemployed is a devastating fact for anyone, you will have a disastrous thought, like, how am I supposed to do? How will I support my family? This can’t be a violent one, instead, this conflict can cause emotional dissatisfaction. Peace is not just about not having a physical struggle; hence, peace is also about having a good harmonious relationship with everyone anywhere. Overall, peace must always be accompanied by our principles. Also, peace can help to have better and inclusive communication that boosts someone’s capability to have inner and outer peace. Always live with a constructive outlook that adhere the concept of peace. Avoid negativity and attract positivity.

Pologeorgis, N. (2021, August 4). Employability, the Labor Force, and the Economy. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/12/employability-labor-force-economy.asp

Zeidner, R. (2020, May 5). Cutting Staff in Times of Crisis. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/pages/cutting-staff-due-to-coronavirus-fallout.aspx

United Nations. (2007). Employment and Decent Work | Poverty Eradication. UN. https://www.un.org/development/desa/socialperspectiveondevelopment/issues/employment-and-decent-work.html#:%7E:text=Unemployment%20and%20underemployment%20lies%20at,sustainable%20economic%20and%20social%20development.

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Baccay, Kale Aaron R. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Baccay, Kale Aaron R. (Digital Cinema Track)

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The Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach

A lot of people have different perceptions towards the famous DENR project at the height of the pandemic, the artificial beach, or the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach. This project, which started in August 2020, was a rehabilitation project by the DENR with the aim of beautifying and enriching the old, dirty, polluted, and unhealthy Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines. Countless people expressed their sentiments and perceptions on social media towards the artificial beach. Some people said that it is good for our mental health since it has a good view; some said it can benefit the tourism of our country; some said it is just a waste of funds; some said it is bad for our health; and so on and so forth. A lot of perceptions were expressed to the point where it created a conflict between every individual. People are arguing on social media about their views on the dolomite beach. But what really is the root cause of this dilemma or conflict? The root cause of this dilemma or conflict is that they started this project at the height of the pandemic, the dolomite rocks that they crushed into tiny pieces are bad for our health, and the mining of dolomite are destroying the landform of a mountain in Alcoy, Cebu.

This rehabilitation project was launched in January 2019, and it was set to start in 2020. However, they could’ve postponed the project since the pandemic arose and the virus took over the world, affecting people and countries alike and suffering socially, mentally, emotionally, and economically. According to Marita Moaje (2020) of the Philippine News Agency, the total budget for phase 1 of the project was 389 million, which was questioned by the authorities since, according to Iya Gozum (2020) of Rappler, the DENR stated that only 28 million was allotted for the overlaying of the crushed dolomite in Manila Bay. People are seeking better transparency in the project because they could’ve used the allotted budget for better purposes since we are in a pandemic situation. In addition, this project must not be a priority of our government at this time of worldwide crisis. I understand the sentiments of other people that this was just a waste of funds because they could’ve used the funds for paying our health workers since a lot of them are protesting because they are not getting the proper payment or salary that they deserve.

Moreover, according to Daphne Galves (2020) of Inquirer, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that the dolomite dust, which is made from pulverized rocks from Cebu City, can induce respiratory problems when inhaled. In addition, it can also cause eye irritation, based on my experience when I visited the artificial beach last year. Coming from the DOH undersecretary itself, we must be cautious of ourselves and maintain safety measures at this artificial beach when visiting so that we can avoid any health issues. We can no longer afford to be hospitalized or have other health problems since the virus that took over the world is already destroying humankind.

Furthermore, the mining of dolomite rocks in Alcoy, Cebu, is destroying the landform of the mountain that it has there. Based on the photos that I saw in the news, there is a big crater in the middle of the landform caused by the mining of dolomite rocks. The bad thing is that they just let it be that way. This mining of dolomite in Cebu can also cause environmental issues or disasters like landslides and such. Nevertheless, the good thing is, according to ABS CBN News (2020), the Cebu governor has prohibited the extraction of dolomite, which is used as artificial white sand around Manila Bay, in order to avoid a repetition of the province's 2018 landslide, which killed over 80 people. They don’t want another tragedy to happen in their hometown.

Overall, the government could’ve postponed the project for a while and waited for the pandemic to end. They could’ve used the fund or the budget for the meantime to help our citizens and our country recover economically from the crisis before proceeding with the project. In that way, the people would perhaps have a better response to the project, and we could prevent or minimize the conflict that could develop.

References

ABS CBN News (2020, September 9). Preventing another tragedy: Why Cebu Province banned dolomite mining. https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/09/20/preventing-another-tragedy-why-cebu-province-banned-dolomite-mining

Galves, D. (2020, September 7). Take it from DOH: Dolomite dust can cause respiratory issues, other health hazards. Inquirer. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1332196/take-it-from-doh-dolomite-dust-can-cause-respiratory-issues-other-health-hazards

Gozum, I. (2020, September 16). Where will rest of P389M go? Group calls for transparency in Manila Bay white sand project. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/nation/group-renews-call-transparency-manila-bay-white-sand-project/

Moaje, M. (2020, December 30). 2020: Manila Bay dolomite sand project stirs controversy. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125931

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Ruedas, Phoebe Heart L. (Convergent Media Track)           

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Ruedas, Phoebe Heart L. (Convergent Media Track)           

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Rampant Vote Buying in Poor Communities

Vote-buying stymies the election process and undermines the system's impartiality. Politicians utilize it as a method to give money to poor communities and articulating the issues that poor people need is a simple approach to garner their support. Deprived communities participate in vote-buying owing to a lack of resources to meet their basic requirements as a result of unemployment, as well as a lack of education and information to exercise their fundamental rights. Vote buying is one of the social issues that we experience, and it is also a threat to our peace, particularly during elections.

Although the Philippines is an electoral democracy, corruption and a lack of transparency continue to hinder democratic growth. Historically, elections have been characterized by fraud, intimidation, and political violence. While vote-buying and vote-selling have decreased in recent years, it is estimated that approximately 30% of Filipinos were offered money by a politician or local leader during the 2010 election campaign, and the percentage of vote buying is increasing in today's years, particularly in the Philippines' poor communities. Vote buying is common in poor communities because they lack education and knowledge, making them easily manipulated by politicians. As a result, they are unable to exercise their rights as citizens because they exchange their votes for money, and they participate in vote buying to meet their basic needs such as food, bills, and rent payments. This is not a justification to participate in vote buying because it is all about our rights and the future of our nation. Being a part of a poor community is not a reason to advocate vote buying, since this is an unlawful step in the election process that is unfair to our democratic system. If someone offered us money in return for votes, we would take it or not, but we would keep in mind that our dignity, decisions, and love for our nation cannot be bought with money. In doing vote buying of every politician, they are desperate for power, thus they engage in negative behaviors such as corruption, manipulating, stealing, and dominating the people.

Because of the many circumstances and the authorities' failure to take action to avoid this problem, it is difficult to prevent vote buying in the poor community. As student who wants peace for our country, we must confront and avoid this problem since it is also a threat to our society's peace. We must urge impoverished people to attend or participate in seminars to better understand how to use their right to vote and avoid the propaganda of politicians who exploit their vulnerabilities. To minimize status discrimination and manipulation, COMELEC should enforce a more robust policy against politicians who use low-income voters in advertising and government campaigns. Authorities can implement a livelihood program in which they can use it to find work and manage a small business in order to meet their needs. We must prevent vote buying because it is for ourselves, for the country's future and development. By exercising our rights to vote in the proper way, it is the power that keeps us together that leads us to peace and a brighter future for our country. Our dignity, decisions, and rights are a source of power; no one votes to purchase public authority and position.

Reference:

Combating vote-selling in the Philippines | The Abdul Latif Jameel poverty action lab. (n.d.). The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). https://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/combating-vote-selling-philippines

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Crispino, Anne Mariel A. (Convergent Media Track)

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Crispino, Anne Mariel A. (Convergent Media Track)

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In terms of discussing the economic dimension of conflict, one of the many things we should address and talk about is the low employment and the quality jobs in our country.

According to the hierarchy of needs, we have the basic needs that we need to achieve in order to live a normal life. One of these is the Physiological needs such as the food, water, and shelter. In ordinary times, aiming to attain these things we need money to provide for ourselves, and to have that money we need a stable job for us to buy the necessary things. But then, if we do not have the job to begin with, how can we fulfill the basic needs in our lives.

The Philippines' largest major hurdles are unemployment and underemployment, which are crucial indications of the economy's shortcomings. Around 4 million employees (around 12% of the labor force) are currently jobless, while another 5 million (roughly 17% of those employed) are underemployed. The societal costs of vast unemployment range from lost wages to significant social and psychological issues caused by a lack of employment and uncertainty about the future. Overall, it results in a great deal of societal inefficiencies. (Felipe, 2006)

Addition to the low employment rate is the brain drain which is evident with the recent issues, many are searching for a better standard of living, with higher salaries, and has more access to the advanced technology that are introduced globally yet our country cannot cope up with. The government who are partially responsible to this drought of employments, as well as the overpopulation. Our government is instilling movement to embrace the globalization, from which hinders us to improve our assets, such as the talented brains that we have locally. In line with this, we can actually lessen the unemployment if we support things locally made, or products that are made from the Philippines. If this can be sold within the country, we can also promote them to be endorse internationally, with this being noticed globally will eventually help our economic growth. To arise the economy, it should start from within, in other words, it should start by helping our countrymen to have their job, with a reasonable salary, at a reasonable expense. Also, good governance, provision of quality education, and better opportunities for a better living must be one of our factors to consider.

Unemployment or Underemployment rooted when overpopulation, an excess of labor in particular industries, and a difficulty to fill open positions happens. This becomes a conflict, especially when it affects the human population in a country. Inflation of needs, but decreasing level of the workforce. Relatively, it is also evident with the high consumables in the market, yet with the surges of pandemic the employment is still not on the top of its purpose.

While the Philippine government maintains that addressing unemployment is a primary priority, its actions appear to contradict this assertion. The two primary concerns are price stability and fiscal austerity, not ongoing efforts to generate jobs and reduce unemployment. (Felipe, 2006)

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Reference:

Hasan, R., & Felipe, J. (2006). Unemployment, Labor Laws, and Economic Policies in the Philippines. In Labor Markets in Asia (pp. 367–368). Palgrave Macmillan.

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Raymundo, Trisha Mae L. (Digital Cinema)

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Raymundo, Trisha Mae L. (Digital Cinema)

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In terms of Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, how does the Philippines compare to other countries? We are all aware that corruption is a widespread problem that can never be eradicated in any industry. People in positions of authority frequently abuse their positions in order to benefit themselves. It is their way of taking the public's money and using it whatever they want without regard for who will bear the brunt of the consequences of their actions. We, Filipinos, are most likely to be affected by this injustice, particularly those who are in the silver lining and have no such thing as a right or power to fight for equality.

An even worse source of squandered opportunities is corruption. It will have an impact on the overall budget of the country, leading to additional debt, given that our country is already suffering, particularly in obtaining the needs of the people, and other projects that must be prioritized before any renovations for beautifications as this will not help us fight hunger or earn money. As an instance, everyone is aware that the first strike of COVID 19 occurred two years ago, but our country still lacks the equipment and facilities to treat those people who tested positive in COVID 19. Prior to the pandemic, in August 2019, Philippine government had lost roughly P1.4 trillion in the previous two years, or P700 billion each year, due to corruption. Instead of putting the most obvious priorities upfront, they pushed other projects initially, such as the dolomite in Manila Bay, which costs thousands of pesos considering our country don't even have enough capital.
Stated in the study of Diwa Guinigundo, this is catastrophic as it is also carried out by individuals in leadership roles, whether elected or appointed, and thus is certainly supported by those in their immediate vicinity. Corruption is carried out in hidden agenda unless people with the authority to publicly disclose relevant transactions are made aware of it. Even today, when alleged incidents of corruption entail state interventions that would obstruct the concepts of competition and liberal markets, this underlying cause resonates. Considering individuals who are bribed are policymakers who can adopt policies or change regulations to suit the corrupting party's objectives, corruption is indeed rent seeking. Corruption, like the pandemic, has economic implications. (September, 2021)

Money, a lack of transparency, fraud, a lack of appropriate enforcement of laws and government policies, and a constant lack of support for human rights are some of the reasons why individuals in the House of representative seem to become corrupt. Why is it that practically every year, mostly a diverse set of families sit in the Legislature? because they use their authority to enforce money, and as such power, they manipulate the rest of the population, who are uninformed of the problems that our country is experiencing.  When we consider who else is qualified and deserves to be in such a position, our country continues to overlook them. Miriam Defensor Santiago is an embodiment of this; if people look at her qualities and examine her background, our country will undoubtedly undergo significant changes immediately then.

To raise awareness of corruption, organize a sporting event in which the entire community may participate and make a petition and deliver it to decision-makers. People must enact their human rights regardless of the circumstances they wish to combat unless if they do not speak up, the consequences of the act will most likely fall on them. It is necessary to be aware of politics or any concerns you may be involved in; you must take action and study the legislation of your country to stay connected and enlightened on how the law is being enforced. It will not continue if you do not allow the authorities to misuse their power through public demands.
According to the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre (April, 2020), the risks of being involved in corruption greatly outweigh the potential personal gains. If caught of bribery, an accused may face a long prison sentence, possible litigation, and difficulty obtaining job of any worth. Furthermore, the organization for which the employee is or was employed may face penalties, criminal punishment, expulsion, loss of revenue, and damaged reputations. As a result, individuals could perhaps stop engagement in any corrupt scenario, and if they have unwittingly become involved in a corrupt situation, they should leave from it as soon as they realize it is corrupt.

REFERENCES:
Diwa Guinigundo (September, 2021). Opportunity loss from corruption. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.bworldonline.com/opportunity-loss-from-corruption/

Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre (April, 2020). Dealing with Corruption: Actions by Individuals. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://giaccentre.org/dealing-with-corruption-individuals/

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Lineses, Frankielyn B.(Digital Cinema Track)

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Lineses, Frankielyn B.(Digital Cinema Track)

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Indigenous peoples and their lands are part of the growing economic interest in the country. Connecting these natives, their ancestral land and mining are one of the top economic conflict we should talk about. Last December, Rappler (2021) reported a mining conflict between Pala’wan tribe members lead by Narlito Silay and Rio Tuba Nickle Mining Corporation. The mining corporation is planning to expand their mining land from the filed 3, 548 hectare they want to add 667 hectare that will led to the invasion of the tribes 69,600 hectare ancestral land domain which they have the title of the land.

It highlighted the conflict that Pala’wan tribes are not involve in the said agreement and planning from the start. That is why it causes misunderstanding and conflict inside their tribe. Because some of their members are agreeing for the mining corporation to infiltrate them for scholarship, jobs and housing offers. Which all of this are part of economic problems they need to face everyday the lack of oppurtunities. The tribes may see these mining corporations as opportunity to help them dealing with financial matters, which is not easy to make in our mountains.  Resulting for the 34 indigenous communities to give their consent to Rio Tuba mining Corporation to operate in Bataraza.

Root causes of this conflict reflects to the lack of cooperation of the mining corporation to the tribes of Pala’wan. Coordinating them sooner may also have another result regarding their concern of keeping their ancestral land. They are the people who are given the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) which cost them 2.5 million pesos in over 7 years of fighting for it. That is the reason why they have every right to be involve in the said agreement and in any context concerning the land. Another root cause will be the different point of views of the members of the Pala’wan tribe. They are part of a community that protects their ancestral land because they are all using it for crops, but then the changes of time and modernization gives them new goals that is to be educated and have a job in these mining corporation to support their families.

The conflict regarding their ancestral land may have an effect to peace, because they want their lands to be sacred. They are using it for cultural and livelihood purposes, mining companies such as Rio Tuba should understand this context. Pala’wan tribes are concern about their nature because they are the people who suffers from chemical waste affecting their crops, including floods and landslide that they are experiencing as the side effects of mining. These are all hindrance to their peace, a greater effect that forced them to go down the mountains and file complains. Far from their old ways of living together with the nature with their mutual relationship to give and protect.

References

Ilagan, K., Lehren,A. , Schecter, A., Schapiro, R., Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. (2021, December 2021). A Tribe Divided. Rappler. Com. https://www.rappler.com/environment/a-tribe-divided-mining-palawan/

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TORIO, Ma. Aleczandra T. (Convergent Media Track)

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TORIO, Ma. Aleczandra T. (Convergent Media Track)

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The threat of eviction and forced demolition looms over poor families in the Philippines.

According to Philippine Statistic Authorities, there are about 4.5 million Filipinos are homeless, living in and along the streets, and or living in informal settlements here in our country. It might look like a small chunk from our entire population but what’s alarming is that how the government handles our informal settlers. Just like what happened last January 14, 2020, for instances, six (6) individuals from Cavite were arrested by the Philippine National Police following a violent demolition. The Writ of Demolition was served in the Fourth Judicial Regional Trial Court, Branch 15 in Naic, Cavite, spearheaded by Sheriff Rommel Sisayan and Wilmar de Villa accompanied by 500 police officers and another 500 demolition crew. The demolition was held to make way for Patungan Cove, a beach with a sight to see and clean waters, to be an exclusive five-hectare beach resort for a development firm owned by the late capitalist and business tycoon Henry Sy, Manila Southcoast Development (MSDC). 2,000 living individuals living in the community and 400 residential structures will be affected on the course of this conversion. The demolition was abruptly interrupted when it got violent, both from the side of the authorities and residents were getting hurt. This resulted to 21 police personnel and 14 members of the demolition team injured, aside from the 6 individuals who are now under hospital arrest, the number of injured residents were not confirmed. The residents of Patungan Cove are only actively protecting and defending their community, their homes and their livelihood, their only source of income to sustain their daily lives but the police decided to intimidate and still terror by holding an open fire. The authorities claimed that they only acted accordingly and “within the bounds of law”.

This isn’t an isolated case. Demolition plan turned violent isn’t new. This is the truth of our informal settlers. This is what the poor experiences every day. Every day they are forced out of their own homes to make way for industrial projects for big business tycoons and the never ending expansion of highways. Demolition that often leads to violence. By demolition and eviction, the poor are only given limited options, either to live and dwell in the streets, exposed to more danger or relocate into the distant suburbs, away from their livelihood and resources, making their everyday lives harder. Informal settler insists on occupying lands in urban centers and private rural areas because it is where job opportunities lies, schools and other amenities are attainable despite the horrible housing condition; overcrowded, lack of privacy, and unsafe and unsanitary facilities. According to Reuters, there are 115,000 lying empty units of public housing in rural outskirts, this only highlights how incompetent our government in handling resources and in terms of making accessible and affordable housing for everyone. This is a clear manifestation on how anti-poor our government is and can be, prioritizing profit over its people.

As long as these people seated in power only moves on their self-preserving ways, peace can’t be attained. The abuse of power will go on and on. The cycle of abuse will continue, making life a living hell, specifically on the marginalized sector of our community.

References:

Bolledo, J. (2022, January 14). Police arrest 6 individuals in Cavite demolition. RAPPLER. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.rappler.com/nation/police-arrest-individuals-demolition-maragondon-cavite/

Chandran, R. (2018, June 7). With community loans, Manila Slum Dwellers Build Homes. Reuters. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-landrights-housing-idUSKCN1J303L

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Saja, Lara Jessica (Convergent Media Track)

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Saja, Lara Jessica (Convergent Media Track)

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In 2017, the government initiated the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), also known as the Jeepney phaseout program, which is scrapping jeepney units that were at least 15 years, and replacing them with upgraded jeepneys, also known as E-Jeep by the public. This forces hundreds of thousands of traditional jeepney operators to purchase the vehicle that amounts 1.4 to 1.6 million each (Cruz, 2018). Therefore, when the pandemic hit the world in 2020, causing the worldwide economy to collapse, many people lost their sources of income. Business owners lost their customers while workers lost their jobs. For jeepney drivers, whose customers are locked in their own houses, making ends every day is more difficult than ever. Fortunately, the government has temporarily halted the program’s implementation. This, however, did not alleviate the anxiety that drivers feel, especially those who do not have the financial capability to do so.

The PUVMP is meant to “improve'' public transportation and provide better utility to the public. As the government asserts, traditional jeepneys are no longer in shape to provide safe and healthy trips for Filipinos. For them, this initiative will also improve the ever-bad traffic congestion that the country suffers from (Cruz, 2018). While these objectives are, indeed, very ideal, conflicts are seen in its implementation, particularly at the end of the jeepney drivers and operators since not all drivers are financially capable to produce a million peso at an instant to purchase a modernized jeep. The government understands this and thus provides assistance to the affected drivers. In fact, a portion of the country’s national budget during the pandemic is allocated to drivers through the ‘Service Contracting Program’ (Luna, 2021) and ‘Pantawid Pasada Program’ (Rivas, 2021). Another issue, however, hinders this scene since the government cannot reach all drivers around the country at an instant and thus results in a delay in financial assistance. This is very contradicting to the pressure that the government imposes on drivers to quickly change their units from traditional to modernized.

This issue is due to multiple factors. First, the government and jeepney drivers do not meet halfway. They are driven by different goals and aspirations – quick modernization of transportation and source of living, respectively. The government forces the drivers to follow their ruling while the other party does not have the means to do so. With that, there is a lack of compassion between the two, the government expects drivers to invest in new jeepney units even if they also struggle to create an organized and efficient program to support this implementation.

Jeepneys are public transportation. The conflict between the government and the drivers is not limited between them but will affect the masses if brought worse. This has been seen multiple times in the past. During pre-pandemic, transport strikes were often conducted by drivers, bringing chaos to public transportation users. Three years into the pandemic, there is yet unstable public transportation as many jeepneys are still restricted to operate. This is an example of the always conflicting economical ideals and poverty. It is always a struggle to make prosperous economic decisions without excluding certain sectors of society. In the end, the masses suffer from this conflict.

References:

Cruz, E. (2018, February 7). What you should know about the jeepney phaseout program. Manila Today. https://manilatoday.net/what-you-should-know-about-the-jeepney-phaseout-program/

Luna, F. (2021, October 26). Less than half of service contracting program funds disbursed by DOTr so far. Philippine Star. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/10/26/2136862/less-half-service-contracting-program-funds-disbursed-dotr-so-far

Rivas, R. (2021, October 25). Gov’t approves P1 billion for drivers’ subsidies as fuel increases near P20/liter. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/business/government-approves-drivers-subsidies-fuel-price-increases-october-2021/

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Reyes, Ma. Keahnna Llancze N. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Reyes, Ma. Keahnna Llancze N. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Philippines is one of the weakest state (Abinales, 2008) and the prevalence of corruption has become normalized. Government should be responsible on its people but what is happening in this country [Phlippines] is there are elected government officials who have the courage to steal money from the Government. We can also see that the country is already in a state of impunity because of the weak justice system that unable to implement laws and weak accountability system that those officials who steal money from the government are not held into account; there are even politicians who were proven guilty. They would be removed from the office because of corruption but we will see them in time that they will be reappointed and even promoted.

There are lots of corruption cases and it became worse as the years pass by. In this time of pandemic, you can even see it in the news that there are unnecessary and excessive spending from the half of the agencies of the government. They even took advantage of the pandemic to get more private gains from the public.

This would have a massive impact especially, in the economy. The people would suffer because aside from corruption, the incompetence of government in response for the pandemic has affected its people and would result to economic crisis. More people were unemployed, businesses were shutting down, there are people who died because of hunger and those people who are below poverty line were unable to access the health system.

Corruption has been prevalent because of those officials who want to stay in power because they benefit from it. The government should have been more transparent, decide for the country that would concern even those who at the helm of society and continue to serve its people, not the one who is in power.

Abinales, P. N. (2008). THE PHILIPPINES: Weak State, Resilient President. Southeast Asian Affairs, 293–312. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27913364

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Laplana, Julia Marie D. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Laplana, Julia Marie D. (Digital Cinema Track)

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High Levels of Population Growth in the Philippines

In 2021, the Philippines' population expanded by 324,000 people, or 0.3 percent, comparable to the 914,797 births in 2020.  The source, POPCOM, calculated the figures based on preliminary information from the Philippine Statistics Authority from January 2020 to August 2021. By the end of 2021, the Filipino population is expected to be at 109,991,095 people, down two million from prior projections based on a 1.63 percent population growth rate.

There are several hypotheses about the relationship involving growth in population and industrial progress; some claim that having too many people will help the economy thrive, whereas others argue that it will hinder it. Population increase has some benefits: more people believe it means more employees, which means more goods and services can be created and more people will buy them. Overpopulation, on the other hand, would lead to a food shortage, because if population increase outpaces export profits, economic development will be restricted. Many people are leaving the country for jobs, in addition to escaping to urban commercial areas. An average of 2,500 Filipinos depart the country every day for work in other countries, making it the world's second-largest labor exporter behind Mexico. POPCOM estimates that overseas Filipino workers make up around 10 percent of the country's population of nearly eight million people. They can be found in 182 countries. On top of that, there are an estimated 3 million migrants working illegally in other nations. Filipino workers abroad sent $billion home in 1999, according to official statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Women, who make up the majority of abroad Filipino workers, send in a big percentage of all these remittances.

What created this issue, as well as the consequences of overpopulation. When there are many other people in third-world nations, and many poor families marry at an early age, their chances of having more children increase, there are many possible causes for population growth, The most important of them are increased medical services, which means people can live longer than before, and a lack of Family Planning, which is a problem in emerging regions since there are so many people, and many families struggling to make ends meet marry at a young age, increasing their probability of getting more children. Poverty and overpopulation are linked in a negative feedback loop. One element might lead to the occurrence of another, and vice versa. When child mortality is high (typically as a result of living in poverty), the total birth rate is high as well. As a result, lowering the child mortality rate through reducing poverty is in everyone's best interests.

The most effective technique for managing population increase is to combine political education with efficient economic measures, as this conflict may have. The advice includes organizing work opportunities, rationing, compensation packages, extra benefits, free healthcare, eligibility age and conditions, early education, education for children with population control, Maintaining the living standards of the elderly and providing priority to childless and single-parent families; educating people about contraception access and incorporating expanding population and family planning into high school and college political and economics education.

References:

Rapid population growth, crowded cities present challenges in the Philippines. PRB. (n.d.). from https://www.prb.org/resources/rapid-population-growth-crowded-cities-present-challenges-in-the-philippines/#:~:text=Compared%20with%20other%20countries%20in,and%201.9%20percent%20in%20Malaysia.

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Zeta, Ivana      (Convergent Media Track)

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Zeta, Ivana      (Convergent Media Track)

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Peace may not be achieved in our country today. Even before the start of growing cases of people with Covid-19, the Philippine government did not have a concrete plan on how to prevent the virus from entering the country. The authorities should have imposed a travel ban where people coming from countries with Covid cases should not be able to enter the country. This is a suggestion that most Filipinos wanted to bring into effect because everyone is afraid of what the virus may bring, however, “the Philippines’ economic model itself appears more vulnerable to disease outbreak” (Mendoza, 2021).

Philippines is one of the countries in Asia that is popular in tourism. It is already part of the Philippine culture that the Filipinos are hospitable and very much open to accepting guests especially during special occasions. This popular tourism is a one factor that makes the country prone and exposed to different diseases and viruses.

As a democratic country, the rights to freedom and expression should be commonly used especially at times where the government and its people do not understand each other in the middle of a crisis. The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 was implemented in the midst of the pandemic. Due to the criticism of the Filipinos towards the government which they called it as “terrorism”, the government immediately took action against it and passed a bill on anti-terrorism. People who are posting their thoughts and criticisms on social media shall be notified that they are fighting the government’s way of managing the pandemic and shall be referred as terrorists. This is a nonsense law and that the government is only proving their incompetency and are afraid of their people’s judgments. The people shall hold on to their rights in a democratic country and that the government should also listen to their people because it is their job to protect and serve the citizens of the country.

Another conflict in the Philippines today that affects the peace of the country is the presidential elections. Election is right around the corner and each candidate are preparing, proving their competency, and trying their best to earn the trust of the Filipinos, however, the supporters of these candidates are also treating each other as opponents trying to bring the other down in support of their chosen candidate. People are arguing with each other wherever they are, may it be in person or in social media. I have seen a lot of people insulting the candidates and their supporters online. There are also people arguing that their candidate is better and should be the winner. Even if it is not in the context of the elections, many are still fighting and not giving respect to the candidate and their supporters.

How will the Philippines gain the peace that a lot have been aiming? Even before Covid, people cannot achieve unity in the different aspects in life, society, and as a whole country. The pandemic only brought more division within the people but let us not lose the chance of bringing peace and unity in our democratic country.

References:

Mendoza, R. U. (2021, August 2). The Philippine Economy under the pandemic: From Asian tiger to sick man again?Brookings. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/08/02/the-philippine-economy-under-the-pandemic-from-asian-tiger-to-sick-man-again/

Www.doj.gov.ph. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.doj.gov.ph/files/2020/news%20articles/IRR%20ATA%202020%20-%20CTC.PDF

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Baltan, Arianna Marie P. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Baltan, Arianna Marie P. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Overworked and Underpaid.

One conflict that comes into mind when talking about Economy is how Filipinos spend more time in their workplace than their homes. Yet, they still get paid less than what they require to live properly without worrying about where their next paycheck goes. I lost my dad at such a young age and I have witnessed my mom for years trying to provide food and education for me and my three older sisters. I never understood why I never got to see her growing up because of how much time she spends working. When I grew up, I eventually understood how things goes. I know for sure that working abroad and migrating has come through every single workers’ minds here in Philippines because of how low their income is compared to what other country is giving them. They can offer two to three times higher to what their current salary is and that is just enough for them to make a living.

How is underpay and overwork a threat to our country’s economy? Most fresh graduates here in the Philippines are eager to accept a job not aligned to their field and settle for whatever salary they are offered, not knowing that they are not given the proper responsibilities based on their salary. They are forced to work overtime and rarely get paid fairly as most of the jobs here in this country requires years of experience which they do not have yet. One example I have in mind when I think about people getting paid less than what they deserve is our health care workers. In this time of pandemic, they have done nothing but treat people, they have a much higher risk of becoming infected by the virus and they do not come close to their families when they get home because of the scare that they might get infected too.

Just recently, on 14th of February, year 2022 health care workers from different public and private sectors has staged a ‘black heart’ protest in front of the Department of Health (DOH) main office in Manila to decry their low wages and benefits that remains unpaid. They explained that they have been asking the government for that for the past three years, yet no actions have been implied disregarding their safety, rights and protection. (Crisostomo, 2022) They stand as our saviors this pandemic but why has it been three years for them calling and shouting for the immediate release of their hard-earned COVID-19 benefits? If this continuous how sure are we that the economy will rise? Filipino workers are going abroad and migrating lately since they need money to feed their families. I hope we know how much it will affect our country if we continue paying them such low income.

References

Magsambol, B. (2021, Sept 4) Overworked, underpaid health workers are walking away as Delta ravages PH. – Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/overworked-underpaid-health-workers-walking-away-delta-variant-ravages-philippines/

Crisostomo, S. (2022, Feb 15) Health workers stage black heart protest. – PhilStar. Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/15/2160848/health-workers-stage-black-heart-protest

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Manalo, Dharra Michaela T.      (Digital Cinema Track)

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Manalo, Dharra Michaela T.      (Digital Cinema Track)

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The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF have suffered from conflicts in our country. Since the 1960s, Mindanao had a four-century history of Moro resistance to outside forces and ongoing conflict between the Philippine government and armed groups. The challenging issue on this conflict is the peace process, whether the parties can achieve the agreement but whether that deal can bring about long-term peace.

To emphasize the economic dimension of conflict, one of the major problems in Mindanao as a result of the fight between MILF and the Philippine government is the national government's long-standing neglect and lack of economic advancement. A lack of jobs and economic progress leads to a poverty cycle and is the primary cause of cultural, religious, and physical conflict. They lack credibility and bargaining power due to competing interests. The Muslim community is dissatisfied with the government's willingness to control their region's public facilities. Furthermore, poverty and development remain major issues despite the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao's (ARMM) abundance of natural and people resources. It is the poorest region in the Philippines, and a lack of resources, compounded with corruption, has left local government institutions fragile. All of these variables contribute to the emergence of regional conflicts.

The root cause of this conflict in Mindanao may continue to fight the people for their right to self-determination. With the national government's inability to bring proper socioeconomic growth, peace, and development in Mindanao, there is a war for identity and meaningful governance. Also, the battle responds to "historical injustices" and human rights violations against the people of Mindanao. Together with Moro allies, the Bangsamoro people have fought the government to convince, hear, and act on their requests to correct historical injustices and acknowledge their fundamental right to chart their own political and cultural path.

The war between the two parties, the War on Terror, and the government's desire for peace in Mindanao to help the economic growth have all contributed to a favorable environment for resolving the rebellion of Muslim secessionists. A leadership change at the MILF contributed to re-energizing and aiming for new approaches to the peace process. The conflict's history and failed attempts of resolution have resulted in substantial divisions between Muslims and the rest of the Filipino populace, which views all peace deals with skepticism or, at best, guarded hope.

In conclusion, to address the conflict between the MILF and the Filipino government, the state is recommended to stick to a reaching agreement called a three-pronged peace policy with the MILF, to amend the dysfunctional administration of ARMM. By reviewing the 1996s deal of final peace with MNLF to address the conflict between these parties. Furthermore, Manila should prioritize economic, political, and cultural challenges.

References

Batac, M., & Bijnen, M. V. (2019, February 26). Interview: the Struggle for Peace in Mindanao, the Philippines. GPPAC. https://www.gppac.net/news/interview-struggle-peace-mindanao-philippines

Philippines Mindanao Conflict. (2021, December 20). Acaps. https://www.acaps.org/country/philippines/crisis/mindanao-conflict

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Laplana, Karl Christian D. (Convergent Media Track)

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Laplana, Karl Christian D. (Convergent Media Track)

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MARTIAL LAW REVISITED: POLITICS AND ECONOMY OF THE PHILIPPINES

In 1965 when Ferdinand Marcos was elected, the country was viewed as a shining example of Third World constitutional and financial accomplishment. Ferdinand Marcos was widely regarded as one of the most skilled lawyers and political leaders within a generation of notable Asian patriarchs. His presidency coincided with a massive resonance that saw the broadest political consolidation and the rapid financial growth in historical events. However, after demonstrating his grandeur for years, he declared “Martial Law” in 1972, promising the Filipinos a developed nation that evenly share the fruits of prosperity. Unfortunately, all of these favorable circumstances were accompanied by a national catastrophe.

Ferdinand Marcos defended his harsh measures by reverting them on the fact that Philippine democracy and economy were on the verge of crumbling. Later perspectives, on the other hand, emphasized colonialism’s corrosive effects, the worsening of society, and the insufficiency of the American-style democratic government, downplaying the relevance of any specific insurgent threat. The Filipino culture undermines societal restrictions that are recognized to be Westernized where these issues have long been a challenge for the Philippines. This incidence, however, reached unprecedented heights during the immediate Post-War Era’s instability and suffering. As a result, it had been ingrained in the way of life of the Filipinos, most especially to those marginalized sectors which highlighted a massive conflict in terms of the political and economic aspects.

To expound the root causes of how Philippine politics was exemplified during Martial Law, there is a mechanism wherein the people at power were chosen and chaos was resolved quickly since those in authority frequently consider it a pastime or preoccupation. Ferdinand Marcos’ administration was characterized as a “constitutional authoritarianism” and “dictatorship”. The advocacy or enforcement of unconditional loyalty to government authority at the price of personal liberty is known as authoritarianism. While Ferdinand Marcos, the president at the time, was the one in charge of everything and had the absolute power. He was a dictator who lacked checks and balances, allowing him to misuse his power.

He also had his own media enterprises that he controlled and owned. Newspapers, radio stations, and television reporters rarely offered his political rivals objective publicity in the news. They were all advocates of a particular cause or, more likely, a certain personality. Wealthy elites had affiliations to fragmented factions, and some bets by sponsoring multiple organizations simultaneously. As a result, during Martial Law, politics became more important than everything else.

Ferdinand Marcos has associated himself with a group of bright and ostensibly loyal politicians and bureaucrats, military officers who serve him a favor for recent advancements, chosen officials who work at his discretion, and dependable family and friends. According to Nowak (1977: p. 522), Philippine aristocrats were able to handle engagement without extensive spending of money as long as the electorate are small and voters are deprived to vote for natural leaders. When the traditional culture of reverence weakened, the only way to retain vertical links was for patrons and clients to reciprocate more. Politicians will be pressed to maintain their dominance only when the demand for pecuniary inducements grows. In this respect, Ferdinand Marcos’ authority has centered on serving two consecutive terms in what was perhaps the most expensive re-election ever conducted in Philippine history using public funds.

Therefore, financial upheaval occurred, leading to currency devaluation, business failures, and job losses. In a Westernized perspective, the volatility was seen through the lens of an unrestricted market mindset and it was linked to strong government-corporate ties. Due to corruption and favoritism, the connection’s resources were misallocated. Funds were channeled to selected businesses, businesses were saddled with enormous debts they couldn’t pay back, and banks were flooded with non-performing loans. Hence, there was an expanding financial crisis in the urban lower-class electorate.

It is evident that the same people and institutions who celebrated the region’s enormous economic triumphs in the past, such as the International Monetary Fund, are today outraged by the region’s corrupt and inefficient “crony capitalism”. It was developed from Ferdinand Marcos’ controversial economic system, which is said to still rule the region today. The regime concentrated on inefficient procurements rather than investing in labor-intensive businesses to boost employment. Nuclear fusion power, steel, aluminum, copper, and other capital production that are among the eleven important industrial projects. With these events, all hope for reducing the country’s severe unemployment and establishing an applied equal society perished.

With that said, as long as non-liability persists, the Philippines will resume working with it. Analyzing Martial Law and its ramifications in our society is stressful in that it has still implications of conflicts in peace up until now. The liberal state to its absolutism is what people have fought for, mobilized for, and are now experiencing. As long as we do not challenge those who are holding their interests and hurling massive problems at us to solve in anguish and suffering, the state will persist. The specter of events that took place during Martial Law will live on in our memories forever.

As a result, Martial Law will be remembered for the rest of the time. The enchantments will never go away altogether, but they will be repressed. We understand that if we omit our vigilance, we will be forced to trade our privileges and blood for the flawed administration we currently have. We shall see the spirits of those who suffered and were slaughtered at the hands of the Marcos regime if we do not look back. We will keep an eye on their souls, which will be unable to sleep as long as the atrocities committed against them go unpunished, plaguing our every waking minute as a nation.

KAYA NGAYONG 2022, BUMOTO TAYO NG TAMA! #NoToHistoricalRevisionism #NeverAgain #MarcosNotAHero #MarcosMagnanakaw

REFERENCE/S

Nowak, T. (1977). The Philippines before Martial Law: A Study in Politics and Administration. The American Political Science Review, 71(2), 522–539.

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Sheena Panlican (Convergent Media Track) 

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Sheena Panlican (Convergent Media Track) 

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“No one will be left behind,” they say. But how come we are still stuck in a pandemic crisis? How come our country still experiences economic failure? The Philippines was known as the fastest-growing economy with an average of 6.5 percent GDP growth in the past years. But not until the COVID-19 crisis made huge disruptions to the economy, mainly business shutdowns and unemployment blackouts.

My family runs a bakeshop and a convenience store, and I am a witness to how hard it became since the pandemic happened. I still remember how our report sheet became completely zero as the Covid-19 disease was officially reported in the news. Indeed, it was a huge collapse that most business entrepreneurs had to experience. In terms of its root cause, the coronavirus pandemic has made a huge impact on households and businesses, wherein according to a study led by Asian Development Bank (ADB), it showed that 70.6% of micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) were obliged to shut down because of low sales and demand of people in the coronavirus outburst.

In the data presented by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), 38% of the businesses were closed from March to April 2020. Wherein, this caused job losses that recorded 17.9 percent of the unemployment rate in the last year of April.

While it has been nearly two years of facing the coronavirus outbreak, sectors from public and private have no choice but to reopen businesses and retrieve jobs.  Furthermore, according to Rappler, it was surveyed that most businesses had its lowest peak where they had to ask for financial support from their friends and relatives just to keep their business going. In Indonesia, 20.8 % of the businesses were gone into bankruptcy, while 12.7% of those businesses were in the Philippines. On the other hand, delayed tax payments from the government were also requested due to low sales and merchant shutdowns.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Specialist Shigehiro Shinozaki suggested some measures to the government to help the merchants regain their businesses. One of these is the assistance to devastated sectors, wherein this would support the efficient use of budget in businesses like manufacturing, trading sectors, wholesale, and retail sellers, etc. Second is the strengthening of the distribution of support groups to merchants, wherein this method can give financial support for businesses that needs assistance. And the last one is the transition to work from home to avoid layoffs for both MSME owners and employees. Needless to say, the government should take note of these measures in giving support to the MSME owners in regaining their businesses in both public and private sectors.

In conclusion, there is still an ongoing crisis for most business owners, and we can’t deny that it largely affected our economic state in our country. In a report from Metrobank group, it is expected that the growth of our economy is expected to return to its 6 to 7 percent in 2022 after suffering from the pandemic for nearly two years despite the omicron and delta variant.

Indeed, we are being left behind in progress, conflict solutions, and competence. But my hope for this country will be endless because I believe that at the end of the day, all we wanted is peace where no one will be left behind.

Rivas, R. (2020, September 16). PH with most business closures, layoffs vs peers during pandemic – ADB. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/business/adb-study-philippines-closures-layoffs-peers-coronavirus-pandemic/

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Dalusung, Jamaica M.     (Convergent Media Track) 

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Dalusung, Jamaica M.     (Convergent Media Track) 

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One major conflict that we must address today is how the government respond to the current pandemic. People in the community suffer as the pandemic begins in 2020, causing many workers to be laid off, the country's economy to suffer, and hospitals to become overcrowded with COVID-19 patients, leaving health workers exhausted due to a lack of support. Many flaws and errors have been seen and felt by Filipinos as a result of the government's lack of preparedness.

In COVID-19, our fellow Filipinos feel a lot of pain, especially those who live in poorer parts of the country. The pandemic, for example, is at the root of a conflict that has spread to other issues that haven't been looked at in the same way before. As an example, think about how our hospitals and medical facilities don't have the appropriate equipment. It also didn't pay well for the medical professionals who worked hard. They didn't get enough money for all the time they had put in. No reward is being given to the Filipino health workers who made so much of their time and assistance to help people.

Our country until now is facing this kind of conflicts, but now that the country is focusing into the upcoming election, we forgot that we are still in danger. We did not solve the problem at all. We just focus into another problem that may cause more pain to the community. How can we have solution if just a distraction could easily take away our interests in solving it?

The government has shown us how incapable they are in facing such dilemma. That even in the midst of pandemic, corruption is still there. Some politicians have still the guts to become greedy for power and money while the people below them are getting hungry and waiting for their help. From overpricing or facemask and face shields to getting the “ayuda” for the Filipinos and keeping it for their own sake.

A lot of Filipino families has to lost members of their families; workers lost their jobs. But even now that we have vaccines and boosters, it is not enough to cover the wounds that has been caused by this pandemic specifically the wounds that the government has caused too. What we have today is just a temporary remedy, it will never heal what have already been done. Filipinos has lost a lot but look at us now, those who have money and power is now putting all their energy for the upcoming election. Their best time to shine and make their names clean in the eyes of the public.

What about the pandemic and all the other conflicts that we really need to focus into? We must really open our eyes to the truth that we, Filipinos are in fault too. We keep allowing those powerful people to deceive us, to use us and let them have control. That is the problem of Filipinos even before, we let others to fool us.

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Macalindong, Suji C. (Convergent Media Track)

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Macalindong, Suji C. (Convergent Media Track)

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The Philippines' performance in terms of quality of education is deficient; rather than that, due to the existing COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines has been compelled to compromise education for the sake of public health and safety. Because of this matter, there is no way of knowing when we will have access to a more outstanding education or at least a primary education with effective learning outcomes for students. Apart from that, since poverty is one of the substantial sources of poor quality of education, we have no indication how the Philippine government will address the challenge of preserving the concept of "education for all" while adhering to the principle that "no student must be left behind."

To improve the quality of education in the Philippines, the Department of Education (DepED), educational institutions and administration, teachers, parents, and most importantly, students must all cooperate. However, the Philippines' educational quality has deteriorated, while their net primary enrollment rate and lower secondary completion rate have declined. According to ImbaLife (2017), the significant difficulty in Philippine education is a short-sighted policy that sacrifices educational quality and quantity for economic reasons.

This depiction is realistic, especially in light of the current scenario, in which more students are opting out of school due to the high cost and demand for such educational essentials. Thus, given the digital age in which we now live, we may presume that some students encounter financial difficulties, cannot keep up with technological changes, and live in an environment that prevents them from concentrating on their educational experience.

Due to the government's lack of commitment to maintaining improved educational platforms, students seem to struggle to deal with the ineffective modules assigned to them, increasing their anxiousness and impairing their ability to manage their mental health and capabilities. Moreover, not all students are not cared for or lack the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform successfully since they all need this scholarly attention in order to ease and maximize their learning experience throughout their academic endeavors. Thus, if we do not take urgent action to address the poor quality of education, students' peace and progressive nature will be disturbed since we cannot assure that students are motivated to study or have acquired anything in the process of learning.

On the other hand, demotivation and burnout can also be present for some students' quality of education. Another problem is that educational institutions are primarily focused on maintaining competitiveness towards academics; however, they are not considering the mental state of their students, which is also a factor for its implications. Consequently, this issue affects how students should perform their responsibilities.

Therefore, this concludes that education should flourish to provide better lives for future generations. Filipinos will develop such benefits for sustaining their fellow citizens, economy, and nation with education. Moreover, it only needs support from the government wherein there could be a plan for forecasting expenses, budgeting and allocating educational means, and considering the needs and wants of the people/parties involved in this dilemma.

References

Imbalife. (2017). 7 Key Issues And Problems Of Philippine Education. ImbaLife. Retrieved from https://www.imbalife.com/7-key-issues-and-problems-of-philippine-education

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UKRAINE vs. RUSSIA

On Thursday, February 24, Russia has sent aircraft to Kyiv to strike a missile attack. People in Ukraine are scared, worried, and hopeless. Many people in Russia have tried to protest to stop the war, however, more than 17,000 people were arrested for protesting in Moscow - the capital of Russia (ABC News, 2022).

To understand how the war started, according to News 5, Russia and Ukraine were part of the United Socialist Soviet Republic, or the USSR. As a result, when Ukraine and other countries declared their independence, Russia lost its ability to control them. Moreover, for Russia, Ukraine is so important to them in many ways. Ukraine is a country located in Eastern Europe and the second-largest on the continent after Russia. The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv (Kiev). It is located on the Dnieper River in north-central Ukraine. Ukraine is known as one of the major suppliers of crops and power in the world. One of the supplies they export is wheat. Much of the wheat is exported to the major buyers in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Egypt and Turkey. Aside from exporting wheat, their country is also one of the world’s top four corn exporters. They are shipping corn supplies of around 4.5 billion tonnes per month. Their major buyers of corn are China and the European Union. Moreover, Ukraine is also a large supplier of natural gas in the world and the third-largest nuclear stockpile after 1991 (Reuters, 2022).

Therefore, after Ukraine leaves the USSR, they want to join the alliance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. In the eyes of Russia, it is a threat to them because many of the countries under NATO, including Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and many more, were enemies of Russia during the cold war. And Ukraine is one of the shields of Russia, and it is a big part of their defense against NATO in case there is a war against them. Today, the war has affected all countries around the world. Why? Because Ukraine and Russia are the main suppliers of crops like corn and wheat and natural gas around the world. During a war, it will be hard for these countries to export goods, especially when the country has been declared Martial Law. As a result, most countries are relying only on Brunei and their other main suppliers, aside from Russia and Ukraine. By economic law, when demand is low, the price will be high. From 56.45 pesos per liter in December 2021 to 66.35 pesos per liter in February 2022, thus, it is possible that the minimum fare on public transportation in the Philippines will increase as well, which leads to more problematic issues like the increase in the poverty rate in the Philippines (GPP, 2022).

Reference:

Karmanau, Y. (2022). Russia presses invasion to outskirts of Ukrainian capital. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-attacks-ukraine-defiant-putin-warns-us-nato-83078619

News 5, 2022. Hidwaan ng Ukraine at Russia. https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSe3gT1aC/

Reuters. (2022). Factbox: Commodity supplies at risk as Russia invades Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/commodity-supplies-risk-russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24/

Global Petrol Prices. (2022). Philippines Gasoline prices, 21-Feb-2022. https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Philippines/gasoline_prices/

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Diaz, Andrea Janella 2020031541 (Convergent Media Track)

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Diaz, Andrea Janella 2020031541 (Convergent Media Track)

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The agriculture of the Philippines is running flame through the mountain so thus the economy follows.

Domino effect is seen on how the agricultural sectors of the Philippines fall and the economy too. The Philippines is known for being the main source of many agricultural products including corn, bananas, coconut, sugarcane, pineapples, mangoes, and the most known product that the Philippines hold is rice. The industry of the agricultural sector in the Philippines could lift the economy that has been falling and it can also fall together. The role of this sector is outstandingly significant in the Philippine economy.

In RA 11203, Philippine Rice trade liberation affected the country’s economy and the local farmers of the Philippines, including the rice farms and the rice producers. RLL (Rice Liberation Law) increased the import tariff. As the price of the local farmer’s rice was market with a higher price than the imported rice from Vietnam and Thailand, local farmers started to lose their job. Around 342,000 hectares of rice farms are about to lose their rice production by the year 2025. This does not only affect the economy and the agriculture sector but also the income source of the 40% of total laborers of the Philippines. This 40% of Filipino laborers are agricultural workers.

Tables have turned when Vietnam started to supply rice in the Philippines. Being a supplier is one thing and being the main supplier is another notable change that the RA 11203 caused. From being the supplier of the global market, now the Philippines is getting rice supply from foreign countries. Consumers will support the imported products, sometimes even if it is a lot pricey than the local product what more now that the imported product has a cheaper price. Local farmers were forced to change their career paths and some of them, unfortunately, becomes jobless.

Instead of supporting and taking good care of local products like rice, the Philippine government chooses to import rice from different countries like Thailand and Vietnam. The change was all over the news, some of the local citizens have noticed that price hike of rice, resulting in these citizens changing their option of rice to imported choice of rice. This may affect the economic growth of the Philippines. Since the Philippines is one of the poorest countries, therefore people in the Philippines would choose to buy the products at a cheaper price. The conflict has already started when people start to lose their job and farmers lost their land and one of the reasons for this is bankruptcy.

Around 100 farmers and people affected by this lifted law, were found together in front of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) demanding to repeal the Rice Liberation Law (RLL) last November of 2019. Implicating how this kind of law and changes may lead to conflict and destroy peace within the community of the agricultural sector.
We cannot blame these people for demanding a change in favor of them. The sudden change of their fate is in the hands of the people in power, the government, and the lawmakers.

References:

Perez, N., & Pradesha, A. (2019). Philippine rice trade liberalization: Impacts on agriculture and the economy, and alternative policy actions. Intl Food Policy Res Inst.

Environment. Fact Sheet Philippines: Women in agriculture, environment, and rural production. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.fao.org/3/ae946e/ae946e04.htm#TopOfPage

Purugganan, J. (2019, November 26). Farmers Demand Government to repeal Rice Liberalization law. Focus on the Global South. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://focusweb.org/farmers-demand-government-to-repeal-rice-liberalization-law/#:~:text=Referred%20to%20as%20the%20Rice,tariff%20for%20non%2DASEAN%20imports.

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Sampaga, Angel U. (Convergent Media Track)

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Sampaga, Angel U. (Convergent Media Track)

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Minimum wage is the wage that every worker should be paid per hour/daily that is mandated by law. In 2021 in the Philippines the daily minimum wage rates vary from region to region ranges from P316 to P537 per day.

Blue-collar workers or those workers that belong to the lower class or the workers who engage in hard manual labor and not only that but also they are the people that are in conflict in this situation. As a blue-collar worker who works harder than anyone doing physical labor day and night, where they only earn 537 pesos daily but in reality, others earn even less, and with the hardships that they go through with their job on a daily basis, the minimum wage that they get is not enough because most of them are the only ones expected in their family to survive with their life, and that’s not all blue-collar workers are also among those people that were given unfair work chances, where even if you are a skilled worker who experienced many jobs but you are a high school graduate, the starting position is low as well as the starting salary that will be given to you.

The Philippines is a 3rd world country that is still a developing nation, where we are still facing such as high poverty rate, congestion, and corruption and if the minimum wage still remains low it will not enough for the people especially those that are in the lower class, we will not be able to achieve peace if the minimum wage remains low and everyone will not be given fair work chances and the root cause of these conflicts is that here in the Philippines they are looking to the person’s educational attainment and not the skills of the person and just because they were less educated they were also paid less because they believe that better education opens opportunities but then looking at the status of the status a lot of people are still unemployed even they graduated college unemployment is still evident and does not change the reality that even if you have graduated from college and have a diploma, there is no guarantee that you will have a job with an adequate and decent salary. For low minimum wage and unfair work chances, the implications of these conflicts with peace are that it results in the armed struggle of the workers, where sometimes when they protest they become violent because of their desire to increase their salary to be sufficient for their daily expenses.

References:

Cigaral, I. (2020). ‘Philippines one of the worst countries to live for minimum wage earners’. Philstar. https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/01/14/1984769/philippines-one-worst-countries-live-minimum-wage-earners

Department of Labor and Empolyment. (2020). Current real minimum wages. https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/stats/current-real-minimum-wage-rates/

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Gumapas, Aaron James P. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Gumapas, Aaron James P. (Digital Cinema Track)

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Back in 2014, Grab, a car service company launched in Singapore that eventually became international as it immediately operates all over the globe. It reach its target market and it successfully turned dominant on the business. However, it developed a competitor, Uber, which is a United States based company that offers the same services. These two are the best friends of the Filipino commuters until one of them has to threw its farewell which resulted for the business to became a monopoly in Southeast Asia, making it difficult for the regular clients to adjust on the prices of each service. Basically, Uber was bought by Grab, and now Grab is the only platform that we can use if we want to book a car online.

Monopoly is defined as the unique firm in a certain industry that has no competitors which makes it possible and easier for them to dictate their own set of prices, which in fact, is a manifestation of market power in order to obtain enormous economic profit. Grab took the operations as well as the assets of Uber to the countries of Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam due to one thing, it was a chance for them to offer Uber to bounce back after its huge loss in profit as it is being dominated by Grab itself. And because of that unfortunate event, they accepted their defeat and took hold of the opportunity to get 27.5 percent stake in the company's combined business. In economics, monopoly is both a conflict and strategy. It is a conflict because it can be abusive to the people involved which increases the exploitative behaviour towards its employees and clients. For instance, if the price is 500 per ride within a 25 kilometer distance, the client cannot negotiate and look for other options that would offer less expensive services. Furthermore, it can also be considered to be a strategy to use especially at the opportunities of seeing your rival's failure. Grab saw this as a moment to use its success and market power.

Today, many people are still a fan of using this taxi-services because it is better than commuting or waiting for a taxi on the sidewalk. While the business is successful, the commuters on the other hand are suffering from the lack of options of what company they prefer based on the principles and the regularisation. Hence, the cheaper offers that are less difficult to avail. Because of this, this somehow led the consumers to experience inequality due to the fact that some prices are unreasonable. Also, sometimes, the monopoly system is associated with workers that are receiving low incomes from the job brought out by monopsony employers. And as the producer of the services, they also have the right to refuse to serve the client which is highly negative on the idea of economic welfare. To summarize, monopoly results in negatively affecting the consumers as the prices are fixed, breeds inequality and it violates some factors on the economic welfare and employees rights.

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Raquel, Adrianne Karl (Convergent Media Track)

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Raquel, Adrianne Karl (Convergent Media Track)

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Communication plays a vital role in every community. It seeks to unite people within a common goal, with the same ambitions and undeniably, for what they are accustomed of. In Philippine context, it is certainly, the chismis culture. In today’s time when COVID-19 shifted from these older women or housewives bringing their brooms outside of their homes predominantly between 6 to 8 o’clock in the morning to marites culture where they use social media to talk about people. “Marites” is derived from the word “Mare, ito ang latest!” BryanBoy, a Filipino US-based influencer said, “When it comes to Filipinos, everybody’s business, is their business.” (2022)

Worst is, typical Filipinos would even love to talk about you, behind you, even add things you don’t know about. They must be bored, or it feeds their soul if they gossip about a person. Moreover, it affects a personal standpoint of a person being talked about since these gossipmongers have established this wall to intrude not only on people’s lives but to share hatred. Needless to say, “gossips are worse than thieves because they steal another person’s dignity, honest reputation and credibility… which are challenging to restore.” (Tan et al, 2021 as cited in Salmansohn, 2016).

Obviously, it affects people’s way of living. Instead of living the ordinary lives without having to step on each other’s hustle it seemed that it was habitual. A lot of things are also happening in their lives, but they kept on pinpointing someone else’s manner of living. Instead of learning the art of not giving a care since they also have a life to put through. Leaning towards problem to another problem, perfectly a thing to be called for someone who frequently that does is problematic.

The implications of these people trying to involve themselves is they take away the peace from people. It is unfair that they get to protect their inner peace while others don’t. They try to dodge the bullet where they only gossip because they think it’s okay that they get updates from people, only to realize that it could take a toll on the victim’s mental health.

Lastly, bringing the best out of a person’s shell could be detrimental to their abilities. Given the fact that they are molding themselves to feed their sense of acceptance, success and feel better. It could be hard to think that all eyes are on you. The imperfect world is giving you the vibe of them, waiting for you to commit mistake so that could be another reason that it needs to be said, and they are making sure they will most likely talk about you and how bad you did on most of your actions. Sad, manipulating, stressful and unconvincing.

References:

Tan, N., Yam, K. C., Zhang, P., & Brown, D. J. (2021). Are You Gossiping About Me? The Costs and Benefits of High Workplace Gossip Prevalence. Journal of Business & Psychology, 36(3), 417–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-020-09683-7

Bryanboy. (2022, January 8) kultura Pilipino. [Video]. Tiktok. Retrieved from https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSe3dstND/

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Miranda, Denise Mikaela M. (Convergent Media Track)

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Miranda, Denise Mikaela M. (Convergent Media Track)

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The Philippines is one of the Southeast Asian countries that have the 90% of the poorest together with Indonesia, according to an article by Southeast Asia Globe. The subject of poverty has always been associated to the said country because of different factors, one of them being the country having low to poor economic growth.

In this subject of economic dimension of conflict, the people involved are the Filipino citizens or threshold per family who experience having income below P10,481 a month (Ordinario, 2019). Aside from this, there other links for us to identify Filipino citizens who experience poverty, another link is when people cannot afford to support their own basic needs such as appropriate food, shelter and clothing.

As what I have stated above, the Philippines having low to poor economic growth, this can be directly connected to the country’s economic dimension of conflict. Poverty is only one of the many root causes or factors of other societal issues. This means that the state of poverty of a country can be the cause or consequence of other issues and challenges that a certain country is facing. For example, a family experiencing poverty is vulnerable to students not being able to get a college degree because most college universities are not for free. From here, unemployment may rise, and the list goes on. Since a lot of the citizens in our country are living under the poverty line (it still depends on their poverty level), this can be considered a national issue because a lot of people are affected by it.

Poverty in general is a broad topic to discuss, however, this issue has always been present in our world. In my ethics class, I learned that public officials who uses public means for their private gains is one of the most discussed root causes of poverty. The amount of money that these politicians will get from the masses will cause a lot of other complications to the citizens’ perspective, in which one of them is poverty. Aside from corruption, I can also think that lack of employment opportunities can also be a one of causes of poverty. Most degree holders in the Philippines get job opportunities that are not connected with their college degree. Some graduates resolve to any available job in the industry in order to make money and provide themselves their basic needs.

Peace will not be achieved in a country where a lot of people experience hunger, health problems, lack of jobs, income inequality, and continuous societal issues. If many people are living below the poverty line, it is evident that the concept of peace in these people’s position cannot be met. The people affected by it will always go through deprivation of their most basic needs as humans and may not be truly happy or satisfied with their life. Aside from this, the said conflict can entangle with other societal issues which can be another root cause of another possible conflict that will arise. Again, the concept of poverty is broad and it has many other aspects that can hinder peace in certain countries.

REFERENCES

Chisolm, J. (2021, June 8). Indonesia and the Philippines have 90% of Southeast Asia's poorest. Southeast Asia Globe. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://southeastasiaglobe.com/indonesia-philippines-poorest/

Ordinario, C. (2019, April 17). Beyond the data: What does being poor in the PHL mean? BusinessMirror. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/04/18/beyond-the-data-what-does-being-poor-in-the-phl-mean/#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20results%20of,mean%20a%20family%20is%20nonpoor.

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Molijon, Jennie Mae M. (Convergent Media)

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Molijon, Jennie Mae M. (Convergent Media)

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Peace is situational. Your peace may differ from the definition of peace that I envisioned. In our country, where poverty is rampant, the majority of Filipinos live below the poverty line. Unemployed Filipinos, undergrads, and even those who live on the streets or under bridges. Every day, this type of conflict can be found in the community, where there is a lack of support and no improvements have been made to help those people escape poverty.

Politicians will use this type of trick and strategy in the upcoming elections to capture the hearts of Filipinos by making statements and propaganda promising the people that they will help them. "MAKA-MASA," a politician who uses the community's poverty to persuade them to believe in them and vote for them. Even in previous elections, some politicians used this technique by advertising themselves as members of the poor community and convincing them that he/she truly understands their lives and is willing to help them as soon as they get the position they desire. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

To add more fuel the fire, these politicians will use money as a weapon to buy votes. A man in debt and in need of money would never say no to someone offering them a small sum in exchange for a vote. Poverty has become a tool used by politicians to gain more power and gain control. Filipinos, who are the true victims, will never see the light and be saved from this type of conflict if they do not understand the system they are dealing with. Filipinos are not dumb or stupid, they see what is happening in their surroundings, and they know what kind of conflict they are facing but how can they escape or resolve this kind of conflict if the people who should help them in resolving it are the one causing them more pain.

We are in debt from the time we are born. Children in the next generation will also do so. Millions of moneys are in the hands of rich people and most of them are the politicians. They are already in power; they are the one who can control the system. But how about those Filipinos who choose to believe in them and have faith in those sweet coated words if after the election, they will be left hanging in the air with nothing but a hope that has been turn into ashes. Is having control and power not enough? Some Filipinos are keeping their mouth shut, just to save peace by letting those kinds of individuals rule for the country. But it’s not the peace that we should have. Our country needs the kind of peace where Filipinos don’t need to beg for money, don’t have to accept money from those politicians. We need the kind of peace that people in the community can have meals thrice a day, where children can be born without debt, where a Filipino family can have a place, they can call home.

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Government Incompetency towards Natural Disasters

An economic conflict of interest I would like to discuss that is particular to the geography of the Philippines is the lack of response, preparation, and protocols of the national government in mitigating the impact of natural disasters that cost the country's economic resources. You would think that a country that is hit by an average of 20 storms a year (each typhoon progressively worsening, may I add) would have proper standards and measures in place to effectively alleviate the dangers these natural disasters render to the infrastructure, land, and lives of the people. Yet, we still face at least an average of 125 million Filipinos being affected while losing 1.2 billion worth of pesos economically. Why is that?

While we have multiple programs in place to mitigate the effects of these phenomena, as per the example as the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction Management in our education curriculum and the program and departments established to counter against the risk of natural disasters. Even so, it still does not appear to enhance our fortifications against the said longstanding crisis. There are talks from the government about improving local infrastructure within disaster-prone areas that have not been heard of since. We boast about recently developed apparatuses to track and predict typhoons but have not made proper evacuation sites and areas for regions where these phenomena mostly occur, which is concerning. Predicting typhoons does not matter if there are no measurements taken to reinforce buildings, create escape routes, inform the people monthly of said escape routes, or build evacuation centers. Increasing our economy does not matter if a large amount of it is given away yearly to the reconstruction of our country's affected areas due to disasters, we should have been able to mitigate in the first place.

"Filipinos are resilient." This is a phrase that has been circulated and populated by our government officials about the people's ability to bounce back from disaster. But we do not need this. We need to realize that the suffering and hardship of the people are not the people being resilient, but because the government is incompetent. This is the message we must circulate, what we must echo in our country. We must hold our government accountable for the platforms they do not fulfill to the public. And then we might take a step further into helping our own country rise from the swirls of never-ending storms that are not just of the natural kind, but the political and socio-economic one.

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Magpantay, Trisha Nicole B.BACOMM (Digital Cinema)

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Magpantay, Trisha Nicole B.BACOMM (Digital Cinema)

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Did you ever hear or saw a post regarding the "Walis Tambo" that is selling for about a hundred dollars on Amazon?

Handicraft. A simple but big word. Filipino is known as artistic people but they tend to make their artwork cheap than the original price. We always hear the phrase "Support Locals" but our cultural mind is stuck with the mindset of "Kapag kapwa Pilipino, mura lang dapat". In terms of economic growth, handicrafts are quite significant. Even with little capital inputs, they give plenty of job possibilities and have become a popular source of foreign revenue. The importance of handicrafts cannot be overstated. They symbolize the culture and customs of the people. It emphasizes a country's heritage by utilizing indigenous materials. It retains traditional knowledge and abilities, which are given forth daily.

Artisans are generally employed in the conventional and unorganized sectors of the economy. They are particularly prone to exploitation and inadequate pay. Both socially and economically, they are at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. These individuals are typically employed in domestic or cottage enterprises, where they work hard but do not earn enough to meet their basic needs. The middlemen, who take a large portion of the earnings and leave very little for the artists, are a key issue in this situation. Traditionally, craftsmen served as the backbone of society, but they are now the most important figure in the growth of the country. As a result, the purpose of this article is to investigate the Handicraft artists' flaws and obstacles.

In the economy of the country, the handicrafts sector plays a considerable and crucial role. It employs a large number of artisans in rural and semi-urban regions and creates significant foreign exchange for the country, all while conserving the country's cultural legacy. Because of their unstructured nature, lack of education, low capital, lack of exposure to new technologies, lack of market intelligence, and a weak institutional framework, handicraft artists suffer greatly. Because of the country's diverse culture, customs, and past, the handicraft industry offers a diverse selection of items. In the worldwide market,  handicraft items are in high demand. People from the poorer and backward segments of society have plenty of job options in the industry.

Art is valuable because the artist makes effort, hard work, and time they consume making it. In at least two ways, handicrafts contribute to the country's economic growth. The first is through job creation and employment since a vast number of handcraft enterprises around the nation employ thousands of artisans or craftsmen. State economies depend intensely on expressions and culture. States and regions pick up specifically from expressions and culture-related undertakings, commonly known as "imaginative businesses," since they make work, pull in speculations, create charge wage, and invigorate nearby economies through tourism and customer consumption. Art serves as a source of unwinding, motivation, advancement, incitement, and reinforcing for members in financial exercises, such as rousing representatives, bosses, and clients, especially in creating countries.

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Quincruz, Jaira L. (Digital Cinema track) Coal mining in the Philippines

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Quincruz, Jaira L. (Digital Cinema track) Coal mining in the Philippines

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The Philippines is one of the countries that rely on coal combustion to meet energy demand for the region (of which there are three) is the northern group of islands called Luzon, where the capital of Manila is located, where most of the country's population and economic activity occurs. In the Philippines, there are 28-coal power plants currently operating, while 45 proposed plants have already been approved by the Department of Energy (DOE), adding them by the year 2030. Aside from baseload energy sources, coal is also used by other business industries such as cement, metal mining processing, food, and beverage production. Due to the recent upswing development, many investors and DOE see this as an opportunity to increase the coal mining industry and contribute to attaining the country's energy self-sufficiency. Despite that the government attempted to open the doors for more foreign investment and mining companies to bolster the society and economy; the Philippines still faced major economic and environmental issues. First, the Philippine government is mired in foreign debt, which will cause inadequate service to its citizens, and most likely, it will cost Filipino taxpayers billions/millions every year. Second, due to excessive reliance on imported coal and diesel, electricity in the Philippines has increased, especially during this pandemic, and it is still heavily subsidized.

With regards to the electricity supply, the demand is spread widely across many islands because of long suffered blackouts. For this reason, developing infrastructure and coal mining in some areas might prove difficult due to geographic location, While domestic coal production is concentrated in Semirara, where 96% of the country's coal production occurs. But, there are some limited areas that rely on renewable energy, such as Cavite, Pampanga, Ilocos Norte, and Cagayan de Oro. However, it is high upfront costs. This implies that not all sources of energy stand on equal footing. Furthermore, coal mining is a double-edged sword; it does give the benefits of having energy sources for everyday life. However, its toxins and pollutants have an adverse effect on the environment and wildlife, which is why we've become prone to global warming. Along with this, coal's post-combustion wastes carry health risks such as lung, heart, and brain diseases that affect the public's health. Considering the whole situation, it directly highlights poor public health, scarcity of resources, poverty, and debt if the government remains heavily dependent on coal mining.

As a response, the government should make a policy or law that would restrict foreign companies from building mining infrastructure without its process. While the contracts that DOE has already approved should do a review process, amend, or renegotiate the contracts in order to secure the public's health, environment, as well as the Indigenous community's domain. To improve the capacity of the Philippines to quit coal dependence, participation and engagement by different organizations and government agencies would become a great help. At this point, it is challenging to shift away from coal mining power and adjust immediately to renewable energy— however, if it's possible to do so, the public fund will not be wasted on paying off debt because it is a low environmental impact and naturally replenished which is sustainable and economically recoverable.

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One conflict comes into mind when discussing economic conflict: The West Philippine Sea. For years, it has been hotly contested by two countries, the Philippines and China. Since that particular territory is rich in resources, it is no wonder why we are still fighting on who has claim on that territory. As far as I know, the Philippines has won the arbitrary ruling. But, China is still saying that that is their territory as if the ruling means nothing to them. Because of this, it is not only creating conflict in that territory but the islands near it as well. In regards as to how this highlights the economic dimension of conflict, let me put it this way. Not only is the conflict political and territorial, it is also economic. The reason why it is part economic is because of the rich natural resources that is in that part of the ocean. Not only natural gases, but the many species of fish in that particular region. And not only that, but the trade routes of ships as well. Because whosoever controls that territory will get the lion’s share of the profits. From the livelihood that comes from fishing to the trade goods coming in and out of the country will bolster that country’s economy. One root cause that can create this kind of conflict is financial problems. As I mentioned that since the West Philippine Sea is rich in natural resources, those resources would bolster the economy and help those who are in need of a job. The second reason would be to show off power. If we pay attention to history, the Chinese has faced bullying from the West before. And because of that, I believe that since China has grown powerful, it is now bullying countries like the Philippines. So, in short the second reason would be because of a cycle of abuse. And the first reason because of financial problems. And lastly, one root cause of this conflict is the claim of sovereignty.   One implication drawn from these two statements is that one, instead of growing past the abuse and moving on, China is acting like a spoiled child who crushes anyone in their way when they do not get what they want. And that because of the abuse they faced from the West, they believe that by subjugating or bullying its neighboring countries would make it more powerful. The second implication that can be drawn is that because of the financial boon that would go to the country who controls the West Philippine Sea, we are now in a tug of war to see who would give first. The third implication would be that both countries are fighting for territorial control of that territory. I admit that you do not have to be smart to know why that particular piece of territory is beneficial for both parties.

In conclusion, the economic dimension of this conflict is more apparent the more you look into it. It is not just about politics or territory, it is about what benefits that territory can bring to the country.

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Feliciano, Carlina C.                                                          (Convergent Media Track)     

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Feliciano, Carlina C.                                                          (Convergent Media Track)     

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Job Unemployment

Unemployment refers to people who are employable and actively looking for job but are unable to find it. This group includes those who are in the labor force but are not in the right job. Unemployment is one of the indicators of a country's economic status, and it is commonly assessed by the unemployment rate, which is determined by dividing the number of unemployed people by the total number of people in the labor force. The Filipino people are affected by this type of economic conflict, particularly the low-educated, who are more sensitive to the unemployment rate than those with a higher education. It has also been demonstrated that people who are low-skilled or otherwise disadvantaged are more vulnerable to labor market conditions.

This highlights the economic dimension of conflict by directly affecting the Philippines' poverty rate, as well as causing changes in environmental and economic resources. Unemployment can lead to debt and poverty, thus the government must help these people. As a response, welfare spending will rise simultaneously. In circumstances where unemployment is extremely high, the government will face a budget deficit as a result of a combination of tax income loss and higher welfare spending. Unemployed people suffer not just financially, but also physically and emotionally. Heavy unemployment has two societal costs: increased criminality and a decreased rate of volunteerism. Government expenditures extend beyond the provision of benefits to the loss of worker productivity, decreasing the GDP.

Corrupt government is one of the underlying causes of this economic struggle; corruption works as an inefficient tax on business, rising production costs and diminishing investment profitability. Corruption may also reduce investment productivity by lowering resource quality. With a low unemployment rate, it's critical for business management to understand how to correctly negotiate the labor market. Then there's Covid-19, the global pandemic. Low-paid workers, young people, women, ethnic minorities, the self-employed, and informal and fixed-term workers have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, which has highlighted deep-rooted labor market fragilities and structural inequities. As a result, governments must begin to think beyond recovery programs and instead focus on creating a future of work that is safer, fairer, greener, and more successful at mitigating the effects of future crises on jobs and earnings.

The suggestion that having sustained economic growth is another option for the government to handle the problem of unemployment is one of the implications of this conflict to peace. Employers will be more eager and able to hire more workers as the economy grows. This contributes to the reduction of unemployment. The educational system should be restructured as a whole. Colleges and universities should admit students who are interested in pursuing higher education. Lastly, boost the economy because unemployment is low while the economy is doing well. All of these possibilities will determine whether or not there will be peace.