GLIMPSES ON SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES, Nr.19

 

By Tony A. San Juan, OCT Retired
Toronto-Canada
November 15, 2021
 




PANDEMIC RESILIENCY: Based on a Bloomberg report ( a global financial news network) released on October 28, 2021, the Philippines ranks last in COVID-19 resiliency. The Philippines, according to the report, "ranked last among the world’s 53 biggest economies in terms of COVID-19 resiliency. The country is joined by  Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in the bottom six for the third month.

The country's health undersecretary, however, said that the Philippines cannot be compared with other nations like the United States. She noted that countries have their own “context” so they cannot be compared with each other because doing so is like comparing apples and oranges as even before the start of the pandemic, the U.S. health system was “already robust, being a high-income” country. "We will always have different contexts" across different countries where they "have the resources and the vaccine manufacturers." 

The government has not been remiss in its COVID-19 response, said the senior health official, noting improvements such as more COVID-19 testing laboratories, quarantine facilities, and vaccine doses administered daily. Currently, three VOCs ( variants of concern) have already been detected in the Philippines – the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants. After withstanding three VOCs and surges in cases, the Department of Health said “no country can ever prepare for any type of COVID variant.” "Sana naman ay malunasan at maibsan ang mahirap na kalagayan ng ating pakikipaglaban  sa kasalukuyang pandemya sa pamamagitan ng pagtututulungan at madaliang bakunahan na mga kababayan natin sa Pinas."

SATISFACTION RATING: According to a new survey by the Social Weather Stations(SWS) released on October 29, 2021, "satisfaction with President Duterte continued to plummet less than a year before the end of his term". The survey, conducted from Sept. 12 to 16, 2021 showed that "67 percent of Filipinos were satisfied with the performance of the President". The survey showed "it was eight points lower than the 75 percent he obtained in similar surveys conducted in May and June 2021. The rise in the number of those dissatisfied with the President continued to increase, from 10 percent in May 2021 and from13 percent in June to 15 percent in September 2021. Those who were undecided also continued to drop, from 15 percent in May and 12 percent in June to only 11 percent.

The latest survey gave Duterte a net satisfaction rating of  “very good” +52, lower than the +65 and +62 that he obtained in the May and June surveys, respectively. The net satisfaction rating is the rounded-off difference between those who said that they are satisfied and dissatisfied with the performance of the PresidenT. Comparatively, President Duterte’s "net satisfaction rating is still higher than the average of his predecessors".The SWS survey had 1,200 adult respondents and an error margin of +/- three percent for national percentages. "Karaniwan nangyayari ito sa huling termino na mga naging presidente ng Pilipinas, dahilan sa tinatawag na "lame duck" o pagtatapos ng wala nng magawa para sa bayan. Kaya?!?"

WORST TRAFFIC: The recent Numbeo report cited that the "Philippines has the worst traffic situation among six Southeast Asian countries and is ranked ninth-worst in the world". The Numbeo traffic index assesses factors such as average time consumed in traffic, estimation of time consumption dissatisfaction, overall inefficiencies in the traffic system, and estimation of carbon dioxide consumption in traffic. The higher the score in the index means the lower the traffic quality for a country. Covering 81 countries, the   Philippines recorded the highest traffic index score, 194.84,  among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) including Indonesia (194.61), Thailand (170.60), Malaysia (169.14), Singapore (148.61), and Vietnam (111.12).



The top10 countries to have the worst traffic conditions in the world, overall, Nigeria was found with a score of 308.03, followed by Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bangladesh,  Egypt, Iran, Peru, India, Philippines, and Colombia. Austria was ranked 81st, which means it has the best traffic situation among those covered by the traffic index.  Numbeo is a collaborative crowd-sourced online global database. "May bago pa ba dito sa kalagayan ng buhol-buhol na trapiko sa Pilipinas? Marami ng panahon na parating ganito ang pahirap ng pahirap at wala na yatang katapusan. Ay naku!"

RISING WEALTH?: Based on the World Bank report, "Filipinos are seeing a steady increase in wealth over the years but remain below that of their neighbors in Southeast Asia. According to the report of the Washington-based multilateral lender, The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021, "the wealth per capita in the Philippines is estimated at $35,135. which is 14 percent higher than the previous level of $30,823.The World Bank report tracks the wealth of 146 countries between 1995 and 2018 by measuring the economic value of both renewable and non-renewable natural capital, human capital, produced capital, net foreign assets, and blue natural capital. In Southeast Asia, Singapore topped the rank with wealth per capita at $817,846, followed by Malaysia with $167,365, Thailand third with $78,216, Indonesia at $78,216, and Laos $38,079 per capita.

Below the Philippines are only Vietnam and Cambodia. The World Bank said that "low-income countries like the Philippines are expanding their wealth at a relatively slow rate, with per capita wealth growing an average of 22 percent, below the global average of 44 percent. The World Bank said human capital is the largest source of worldwide wealth, comprising 64 percent of the total. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank noted that "low-income countries are likely to experience the most severe impact, with a projected loss of 14 percent of total human capital. World Bank urged countries to "actively invest in public goods like education, health, and nature, to prevent unsustainable depletion, and manage future risks". "Kaya, kahit na tumataas ang "yaman ng Pinoy", mababa pa rin kung ihahambing sa mga karatig bayan sa silangang Asia. Bakit? Sobra ang konsumo natin kaysa sa larangan ng produksyion. o pag-gawa."

(Tony A. San Juan, OCT Retired)