The wealth of any country’s natural resources may be measured by historical evidence. Not the kind that you might think in terms of geological findings but rather by which lands were colonized by the West. And of course, the Philippines but the Spaniards for over 300 years of economic plunder.
Good examples would be Indonesia (colonized partially by the British), the Portuguese and for almost 300 years by the Dutch. Malaysia and the Straits Settlements (which includes Singapore) by the British, Vietnam by the French, Macao by the Portuguese, Hongkong by the Biritish and many more beyond the South East Asian region.
The Philippines, blessed with fertile volcanic soil, abundant with natural resources, vast coastlines of deep sea wealth has continued its colonial ruinous past but this time even more dangerously, for of one of its richest resources – humans.
We know it as the brain-drain.
Statistics report that 10 percent of the Philippine population work abroad. That number unfortunately is not 10 percent of the dumbest of their kind but mostly the creme de la creme of their best citizens.
This large scale exodus of their top talent leaves their domestic market with a shortage of qualified workers. Qualified workers such as medical, technical, managerial levels.
What does 10 percent amount to?
Nine million people in the case of the Philippines population. Ironically, this 10 percent emigrant workers spur more than 10 percent of the Philippines GDP (Gross Domestic Product) which is in the region of US17.3 billion. These figures are according to their Government data.
In time to come, the Filipinos will become one of the most ubiquitous nationalities on Earth and like the Chinese, they will be even found in places one would never have guessed.
And yet…
Despite all the 9 million job vacancies left by these emigrant Filipinos and with tens of thousand qualified graduates each year, the job market remains scant. How come? Good question ha. With a culture that has yet to be cleansed of nepotism, cronyism, corruption and lack of meritocracy, jobs vacancy will continue to be filled by the inept – just like how their political situation is.
And not that it is beyond their ability….
There are millions of young Filipinas who work in the flesh market. A good many of these women are literate, educated and in good health. Is it beyond the simple vision of an able entrepreneur, politician and others, to run cottage industries for these women to produce (not necessarily babies) but all sorts of local products for the export market? That would spawn small to medium size businesses that would create jobs for their women.
Or is it there is a bankruptcy of vision and capability to do something as simple as that just because 9 million of their best have left the Philippines?
