The Solution
The Philippines is in shambles and no quick step can bring the Philippines back on track. In terms of development, no matter how proud Filipinos are and no matter how they just laugh it off, it is very evident that we are now being left behind compared to other southeast Asian countries that were once considered less progressive than the Philippines.
The Philippines cannot become a productive nation overnight, however, I believe that our leaders must only work on two aspects that would assure the Philippines success. The first one is that our leaders should make ways to stop the baby boomers. Overpopulation must be given a solution because overpopulation is the root of almost all problems in the Philippines.
Overpopulation leads to unemployment. Existing businesses in the countries can no longer give jobs to all the workforce in the country. Even call centers cannot provide jobs to all Filipinos because not all Filipinos are well versed in English. Reports say that population is estimated at 91 million. Many of the unemployed are not taxpayers which means that there is much need for the government to attend to the needs of the unemployed.
On the good side, unemployment in the country still had a positive outcome because of the dollar remittances coming from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Nonetheless, it is still better if no one had to migrate just to earn a decent living.
If overpopulation could only be solved, the government could allot more of the national budget to much needed infrastructure projects rather than shelling out huge funds for housing projects, feeding programs and other projects aimed at alleviating poverty. Overpopulation will not increase the collection of taxes if the country could not give jobs to its population.
Consequently, because the country could no longer provide good-paying jobs to a good percentage of the workforce, poverty and hunger is a result.
It is much easier to solve unemployment poverty and hunger if the number of victims are at a minimal level.
To start, the congress must enact a bill that would limit the number of children that a couple may have. Some countries are already doing this. Having a limit of two children would be enough just to maintain the country’s population. It is even ironic that those who cannot support a family, those that do not have stable or well-paying jobs are the ones that have more than ten children. On rare occasions, even more than twenty.
An easier way is to hold family planning campaigns and disseminating proper information on contraceptives. However, the church should also be considered because artificial contraception has been a sensitive topic between the government and the church for long.
In time, the Philippines can hold its ground if the proper steps would be taken.
Secondly, corruption must be stamped out to assure that the country could maximize the use of the national budget. But ending corruption will not be easy, even though President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo claims that more government officials are being investigated and are being found guilty of corruption, there are still many controversies associated with corruption such as the ZTE Broadband deal and the Transco deal.
The government must really be sincere in its effort to stand a chance against corrupt officials since the Philippines has been tagged as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
If overpopulation is stopped in its tracks and corruption is stamped out clean, the Philippines will be a first world country in no time. It also helps that the economy is showing improvements as the peso now surged to an all time high in more than seven years and is even expected to reach P37 versus the dollar. The economy may have improved but Filipinos claim that life is not getting any easier as the prices of basic commodities barely remain at arm’s length for the masses
Education is also a sector that is being neglected in the Philippines. Education would be delivered much easier if only our public schools are not accommodating fifty students per classroom, if there are even enough classrooms.
Moreover, the medical needs of the people would be surely delivered if more budget would be alloted for this sector and this would be possible if overpopulation is solved so the government can allot the needed budget allocations not just in health care but in other neglected sectors as well.
Overpopulation not only creates a big deal of trouble for the country; it is also a bother in everyday life. From the moment you leave for school or for work, you might find it hard to get a ride because of overpopulation. People scramble to ride jeepneys or buses especially during rush hour. Traffic would not also be much of a problem if the city is not so overcrowded. You would even find it hard traversing small alleys and narrow streets in the suburbs because of the number of people especially in Metro Manila where many people from the province flock to thinking that life is easier in the big, polluted city.
Crime is another threat that plagues the country. To analyze, the root of many crimes is poverty and poverty is caused by overpopulation. Simple logic will tell that crime is an end result of overpopulation.
And again, because of overpopulation, the country’s endless supply of garbage is running out of dump sites.
The conclusion, overpopulation is the root of unemployment, poverty, hunger, housing problems, heath problems, crime, traffic, education problems, lack of infrastructure, waste disposal and even terrorism. So, solving overpopulation would be the most notable way for the Philippines to be a recognized developed country.
Solving overpopulation I think is the best first step so that our country can move forward. It may not be the best solution for some people but I believe it is definitely worth a shot. However, everything I mentioned here are only “ifs.” These may be quite simple to explain but getting it done is another thing.
thats true! keep it up. and may God allow this to happen to make big changes to our country.