Philippines EconomyEssay title: Philippines EconomyThe Philippines is located in South East Asia and the Philippines economy has been industrialized in the recent times. In terms of the purchasing power parity it ranked 24th according to the World Bank. The sectors that are of key importance in the Philippines Economy are agriculture, industry and mining each of which can be detailed under the following heads; Agricultural sector contributes about 17.1% of the GDP, Industrial Sector contributes 18.1% in the GDP. “The Gross Domestic product (GDP) for 2004 was $84.2 billion. The per capita gross domestic product was $976. At constant 1985 prices and current prices in million PHP (Pesos).” (
The Philippines currently hosts the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which studies high yielding rice varieties. It has played a key role in the Green Revolution and was able to increase rice yields and rice production during the 1970s. “The agricultural sector sees the involvement of about two-thirds or more than 40% of Filipinos. Rice remains the most important agricultural product. In order to increase the economic growth of the country, the Filipinos rely on major products such as coconuts (copra and coconut oil), abaca (Manila hemp), tobacco, and sugar for export purposes. The island republic is, however, diversifying from agricultural and mineral product exports into higher value manufactured and luxury goods such as electronics, apparel and clothing accessories as well as computer-related products.” (
Predominantly agricultural, the Philippine economy has grown in the manufacturing sector since the 1960s. During the mid-90s, 46 percent of the work force was comprised of those in agriculture, fishing and forestry. These areas also contributed over 20 percent to the GDP. The service industry comprised almost 40 percent with manufacturing, construction and mining employing 15 percent. As a newly industrialized nation, the Philippines is still an economy with a large agricultural sector, however services are beginning to dominate. Much of the industrial sector is based around manufacturing electronics and other high-tech components, usually from American corporations. “Industrial production is centered on processing and assembly operations of the following: food, beverages, tobacco, rubber products, textiles, clothing and footwear, pharmaceuticals, paints, plywood and veneer, paper and paper products, small appliances,
The Philippine government is increasingly interested in developing a better, simpler, “new economic engine” while working harder to achieve social, economic, legal, and military reforms. The main challenge for the Philippines is economic development, particularly the Philippines’ new food production sector. In order to meet increasing demands for food production, the Philippines has to begin creating a new food production market, such as the Food and Agriculture Producing Corporation (FAOD) that will expand the supply chain and make it easier for Filipino people and businesses to afford to feed their families and eat the fruits and vegetables they depend on (García et al, 2014; Pinal and Delgado, 2014). As a large economic sector, the Philippines needs to focus on agriculture and fishing, to provide social, regulatory, and military reforms, and to provide a strong new agricultural system with food-producing production and a food-production workforce.
Philippine economic growth is the only way to achieve the goal of eliminating the Philippines’ dependence on the United States as a source of food production (García et al, 2014). In order to achieve this goal, the Philippines needs to create a modern agricultural system with a new, refined food-producing system, such as the Philippine Agricultural Development Corporation (OPCC), consisting entirely of industry (Ongman, 2001: 15–16), health care, health care training, agriculture, the development of energy, and the promotion of agricultural development in the nation’s rural areas (Osawa, 2006.). The Philippine government is also promoting small-scale, locally qualified manufacturing companies in the form of small- to medium-scale agricultural companies with their own specialities. OSCs are mainly based in coastal districts and are not used by the Government of the Philippines (Ongman, 2001: 12–16). Since then, OSCs have recently began to develop themselves on the Philippine islands in the west, particularly in the area of Mindanao, the main maritime hub of the Philippines. The Philippine government can afford to open a small-scale dairy plant on the other countries side of Taguig City, though there is limited capacity here because of heavy rains. OSCs are currently operating in the area of Alcalao, the main tourist destination in the Philippines.
The Philippines can be expected to see a number of large economic developments in the coming years. In the past fifteen years, GDP growth has increased by more than 30 percent. The Philippines, on the other hand, is already a growing economy. The Philippine economy has grown at an average annual growth rate of 2 percent (Faisal et al, 2003) and now has seen a projected growth rate of 3 percent (Ongman, 2001). This growth has mainly been due to rising energy prices (Faisal et al, 2003), which made the Filipino economy more unstable than it was for the first time in twenty years. This has led to economic stress along the highways and with traffic delays (Faisal et al, 2003). In July 2016, the Philippine National Police launched Operation Plan 2 (PoP2) for the Philippine Central Affairs Bureau (CCB) and National Disaster Management Agency (CNMDA) to begin planning for a major military or military-led military-led economic mobilization, which could lead to military conflicts in the region (Ongman, 2001: 22).
In addition, Philippine defense budgets are nearing a level that could lead to conflict. The Philippines currently spends only 5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, and, during the same period in 2015, the budget for the Philippine Army (PAC) was over 5 percent of GDP (Faisal et al, 2003). Since the beginning of the Filipino insurgency (1974-1995