Reason 3 (Political)

The Philippines has joined a strong alliance called the ASEAN Summit. This is an

organization lead by various leaders of the countries that reside in the South-East.

These countries are composed of; Cambodia, Brunei, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore,

Thailand, Viet Nam, and last but not least, the Philippines. These countries that you can

see are all belonging to the South-East. And what do we have in common with these

countries? It is that we lack power and development in almost every single aspect we

can possibly think of. We also very small and what some may even consider us or call

us as third-rate world countries. There is no lie or exaggerating in those statements, as

they are very true. But so, what if it is? What matters is that we have united and have

begun to make a steady progress and approach to a better future. Divided, we may be

weak but together we are strong. A common goal is what makes this alliance work and

thrive, without the drive to be stronger and be better, this alliance would simply crumble.

With the exchange of benefits and information, with better diplomatic relationships with

each other and better trading routes. Each of these countries are thriving everything is

going well. Because of

5.

ASEAN the political powers of these various countries are coming together, resulting to

the betterment of the future of their country and ours. (5 Advantages of ASEAN

Integration in the Philippines, n.d.), “The development of the Philippines as a whole is

facilitated by ASEAN. The country is better prepared for globalization as a result of the

outstanding support received from other Southeast Asian countries.” This alliance reeks

nothing but benefit for us, it is simply a great organization to be part of.
Counterargument 3 (Political)

The alliance is very weak and very brittle. The small merging and gathering of

these countries are nothing more than a facade for the people and the public. Afterall,

as politicians they must first gain the trust of the public before they can delve into

various operations that we may now know of. Most of these operations are full of corrupt

and injustice acts, going after their own personal interest before the security and interest

of the public. This in turn would cause the destruction and fall of a country and the

citizens of those who believed in their leaders. Not only that, we can never trust other

political power to actually help us out in the goodness of their hearts. Any one of them

can betray us in a heartbeat and that would simply spell doom for us. No matter how

fruitful the alliance has become, we must always remain vigilant and alert to anything. A

betrayal is very common in a political struggle, especially when it comes to things that

may affect everything in a global scale. (Fragile ASEAN Alliance Caught between the

US and China, n.d.), “As flimsy as a house of cards, the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations. It must be handled carefully because if not, it may easily tumble before anyone

notices. However, major nations don't appear to comprehend how precarious the

regional alliance is.”

6.

Reason 4 (Political)

The Philippines is a country that had always been resilient and fought for itself.

Through countless adversaries, we have always managed to pull through and come out

on the top. No matter how the odds were against us, we always stood our ground and
fought until the very end. As an independent country with a small land geography, we

can say that what we have accomplished so far can be said to be decent. Although it is

lacking when compared to hegemons like China, USA, Russia and such countries, we

can say that what we have done to advance this far by ourselves is almost decent for

the modern world. Now with the help of other countries, we can say that the chances for

improvement and progress had definitely moved up and became more prominent than it

was in the past. The progress we have now many be considered slow, but small

progress is better than none. We must work hard and remain optimistic for the day that

we would someday rise to the top alongside the hegemons and hold out on our own.

Counterargument 4 (Political)

No matter what we do, the Philippines is easily bullied and pushed over by the

hegemons of the world. One of the most common bullies we have been trying to fend off

is China. The most recent altercations and activities that they had shown is nothing

short of an insult both to the Philippines and the Filipinos. However, as courageous as

we may be. What can we do against to such a big and strong country? There is none,

that is why they are called the hegemon of the East. (RABBANI, 2019), “The South

China Sea is on track to become the upcoming major geopolitical arena. For

international trade,

7.

business, and the delivery of energy, it is one of the busiest and most crucial marine

routes.” China aims to be the hegemon of the world, and the first step to do so is to

actually conquer the South-East countries and put us under their rule. If the Chinese
were to be successful in their political escapades it can be said that their hegemony in

the world would soon be inevitable. No matter how hard we try, the Philippines just does

not have the capability to stand up or catch up to the progress China has made. It was

as if our destiny was just to be a stepping stone for others.

Conclusion

If the Philippines was somehow blessed with a competent leader, we could be

very well on our way to a better future. Unfortunately for us, the Philippines has

constantly suffered from corruption and injustice. Even with the various help and

benefits we gain from other countries; we just keep failing on how to use that benefit

and potential to make ourselves stronger. If you were a leader of this country, would you

be able to lead it to further heights? Although hard, when was hard impossible? Even

with all the setbacks we have suffered, we must stay resilient and keep working for a

better future for ourselves, although right now we don't have the biggest advantage we

already have a good foundation to start on. That is our political integration and global

economy, it may be small but we have to work with what we have. If a competent leader

would rise and use these foundations and potential to their best, I believe that the

Philippines can stand on its ground and be stronger than ever. Afterall, we have so

much potential that is merely being unused and thrown. One must be smart, competent

and have a strong mind to shoulder the responsibilities needed to push the Philippines

into greater heights. Can you imagine when that day comes? For now it is simply a

pigment of our imagination but surely one would arise and finally help this country rise

to prominence. If one could see through the things that Philippines has to offer, it has

limitless potential that can be used greatly. We have so much resources at our disposal
the only thing we lack is someone who can wield that properly. Global Economy has

greatly helped us, it is due to the resource

resource