Grit and Determination

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Introduction
The Philippines has come a long way from its former civilization. We have

changed and evolved in our ways of life, and this includes other things such as culture,

religion, dialect and our writing. Due to the discovery of the Philippines, the Spaniards

thought to colonize our country, seize our resources and make an Empire in the South-

East. In which you may think as of now, what does this have to do with global

economics and political integration. Although the colonization of various countries can

be said to be more of domination rather than political integration, it was without a doubt

that due to the colonization of the Philippines, we were given a chance to evolve

ourselves into a more modern-like nation. Giving us the chance to introduce ourselves

to the world, and what we can offer. Although the political integration and global

economics will only come after several centuries later when the Philippines had gained

its true independence thanks to the help of the United States, without a doubt it was an

important part in the globalization of the Philippines. (Sicat, 2019), “The Philippines had

developed into a thriving supplier of various goods to the American market as a result of

the initial integration of the Philippine market into the US market.” Now, at the present

we can confidently say that the Philippines is now a developing country, with the help of

political integration and global economics, it is only a matter of time before we rise to

prominence. This is why I believe that, political integration and global economics

are definitely helping both the Philippines as a country, and the Filipino citizens.

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Reason 1 (Economic)

The Philippines has now slowly begun to recover from its previous state of

decline, obviously there are not much improvements in the economy but it is better to

have minor improvements rather than having none. Various foreign investors have

taken great risks in investing in our country and it is shown that somehow these risks

were well-worth the effort and time. (CEICdata.com, 2018), “Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI) into the Philippines increased by 460.5 USD in July 2022 as opposed to 470.9

USD the previous month.” Through this data, we can say that foreign investments have

helped the Philippines thrive a bit more in the global economy. Of course, there has

been a lot ups and downs in the economy, but such things are inevitable. We must learn

how to continue our success and pave the way for that future. Only through this can we

pay our debts and help our country in the economic situation we are currently facing. As

of now, we may be in desperate need of money, but through global economy, through

foreign investments and proper usage and trade of our resources, we can definitely pull

through and improve ourselves for the betterment of the Philippines and the life of the

Filipino citizens.

Counterargument 1 (Economic)

The economic status of the Philippines as of now is in great decline. Almost

everything that we had built-up in the last few years is deteriorating in a very fast rate. It

is to the point, where it is in a very alarming state, it may even cause the downfall of our

country, specifically bankruptcy. (Reuters, 2022), it is stated that, “The Philippine

economy will expand more slowly than initially anticipated this year
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as a result of the global economic recession and tightening financial conditions.” This is

even made worse due to the current conditions we are currently facing. As of now the

Philippines not only suffers from the pandemic, we also suffer from inflation and the

poor governance of our government. Whether we want to admit it or not, ever since the

new President of the Philippines has sat as the peak of the mountain. The economy of

the Philippines has only constantly dropped, and this is no joke nor is it a simple

speculation. A lot of investors have already dropped their investments in this country

and began looking at other countries where they feel much safe and better. The

Philippines Peso value has also started to drop down to its lowest value of all time

which is a whopping P58.49. Not only does this reflect the current economic status of

our country, it also says a lot about our government itself. Afterall, how can our leaders

let the value of our currency stoop so low? It is both an insult and attack to the hard-

working Filipino citizens who dream of escaping poverty. If this continues on, our

country will eventually be like countries like Venezuela, and even worse Sri Lanka. If

you did not know, the current situation of Sri Lanka is a very dire and dark situation. It is

nearly impossible for them to recover from such suffering and even if they do, it will take

a miracle and a lot of time. The citizens of Sri Lanka even struggle to buy the basic

commodities and necessities to go through a single day. They lack everything in almost

every single aspect. Water, electricity, gas, food and more. The more I think about it, the

more unbearable it becomes, we cannot let the Philippines and the Filipino citizens

suffer the same fate. We must act now and do everything in our power to save our
economy to fall in the same fate. We must act before all is too late, it is only us that will

suffer in the end if we do not act.

3.

Reason 2 (Economic)

With the growing GDP, or also known as Gross Domestic Product. The

Philippines is underway for its growth. (Bank, 2022), “The Philippines' GDP will

increase by 6.5% in 2022, matching the July forecast but above the bank's April

prediction of 6.0%.” This is great news as this foretells us a great future in the economy

section of the Philippines. Afterall, one of the main problems of the Philippines is its

economy. If the Philippines were to continue this pace for the next few years, we are

definitely on our way to the proper development of our country. In fact, if we can be

more ambitious, if the Philippines were to somehow increase that gross domestic

product even more, it is not a pipe-dream for us to be the hegemon of the South-East.

The more resources we can produce, the more our economy grows. Nothing but benefit

awaits our way, we can grow bigger and gain more power.

Counterargument 2 (Economic)

Although the gross domestic product of our country is increasing, the Philippine’s

current state does not agree. The Philippines as of now still lacks so many things that is

laughable, for example the unemployment rate of the Philippines is still one of the worst

in world. (Trading Economics, 2019), “The Philippines' unemployment rate dropped

significantly from 7.4% in the same month a year prior to 4.5% in October 2022, the

lowest level since records began in 1986.” This is a very bad state for the workers in the
Philippines, we already know that the Philippines does not have the capability to support

a lot of workers, but this just made it even worse. More and more become unemployed,

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this makes them vulnerable to poverty and suffering. This also makes the Philippine’s

progress slower and even more inefficient. Overall, this is was an example of a bad to

worse situation. An immediate solution is almost impossible as I’ve said, we are far too

lacking in many aspects. This includes the low salary and the overly-high required

qualifications to get a decent job. Most workers in the Philippines work in a minimum

wage, to make it even more to make a decent pay they have to work with maximum

effort with minimum pay. It is nothing but a modern-day slavery.

Reason 3 (Economic)

The Philippines resources have limitless potential. The geography of the

Philippines can be said to have almost unlimited potential for resources. If one would

take a quick look in the geography and map of the Philippines, we could clearly see that

it is an island, an archipelago to be exact. The Philippines is an archipelago surrounded

by numerous and large bodies of water, making us incredibly rich in marine life and

marine resources. That is why one of main sources of income in the Philippines is

fishing. Not only that, fishermen are also a vital part of the food source in the

Philippines. (Garcia, 2021), The Philippine economy is heavily dependent on fishing,

particularly for coastal towns living along the nation's fifth-longest (36,289 km) coastline,

which employs 1.5 million people and generates PHP 196 billion in Gross Domestic

Product.” This shows just how much of an impact fishing has in our country, in fact
because of fishing the Philippines is quite well-known for its quality in fish. We are also

known for the diverse fish that we can offer in the market, being surrounded by different

oceans surely are great as they provide diverse fish and loot that can be obtained via

fishing.

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Counterargument 3 (Economic)

The fishing industry in the Philippines has begun to decline. The loss of the West

Philippine Sea is an incredible loss for both the Filipinos and the economy of the

Philippines. Filipinos have used and traversed those waters way back in the past, now

that it has been stolen and proclaimed by the Chinese as theirs, Filipino fishermen can

no longer continue to cat fish in the area. There have been numerous conflicts in the

area, some even resorted to violence. Completely bullying and humiliating the Filipino

fishermen who are hardly making a living. (Gavilan, 2021), “According to data from the

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the West Philippine Sea supplied

an estimated 324,312 metric tons of aquatic products in 2020, accounting for 7% of all

fisheries production in that year.” It was truly a tragedy and a complete loss for the

Philippines. But what can we do? Not even the Philippine government tried to fight for

the right in the West Philippine Sea. The number of resources we lost was innumerable,

it will surely have an even more impact in the future.

Reason 4 (Economic)

The Philippine land is rich for cultivation and has the fertile lands to create a very

powerful trade in the Globe. The Philippines is quite known for its rich, fertile lands. We
are very blessed for the fertile soil that we use in our farming. Especially when it comes

to the production of the rice, as Filipinos we are born to eat rice. It’s as if it was in our

soul to eat rice, without it, eating a meal would simply be boorish and quite simply

incomplete. It is an essence in almost every Asian country, if not every Asian country.

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That is why we must use this advantage and opportunity to make a success and

movement in our economy. Not only that, we can also use this as a resource to help the

food problem in our country. The Philippines also suffers from its lack of food and

distribution. Through the cultivation of our lands and other things, we can finally help

lessen this particular problem, and who knows it might even be the key to solving this

problem that we have longed face. (Fact Sheet Philippines – Women in Agriculture,

Environment and Rural Production, n.d.), “An important part of the Philippine economy

is agriculture. It employs roughly 40 percent of Filipino employees and generates 20

percent of the country's GDP on average.” This is a study in the agriculture in the

Philippines. Filipino farmers are an essential and crucial part of our economy and the

daily lives of the Filipino people, we owe them almost everything that we currently have

as it was the farming in the Philippines that help jobless people get their jobs, this in turn

would help the economy prosper and the country would flourish. People would be fed

and benefit is the only thing that would await us, that is why we mist use this advantage

to the maximum we can do so. Let us use the rich lands of the Philippines into a

paradise for farmers, a paradise where farmers won’t get discriminated with their jobs

and instead be thanked with all the hard work and effort that they put into. Rice is not
the only thing that we can produce here in the Philippines, as I have said the Philippines

has very rich and fertile soil. We can produce various crops, fruits vegetables and even

plants that can only exclusively grow in a tropical climate. Making them even more high-

value, thus would help the Philippine economy grow more greatly as crops are

welcomed in the world.

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Counterargument 4 (Economic)

The Philippines is losing its rich and fertile soil, this would greatly lessen the

farming and work of the Filipino farmers. The Philippines as time goes on has become

more and more industrialized, this in turn would produce pollution more than ever. Not

only does this affect the water, air, and land for the citizens of the Philippines. It will

affect everything in the world, including the livability of a person inside that area. Crops

have become much harder to produce because of this pollution, not only this the way of

farming and cultivation is slowly being forgotten and ridiculed by everyone. The job of a

farmer is a very noble job, it is them that gives the country the life to feed for the people,

we must not forget what we have and what we thrive and specialize in. (Carating, n.d.),

“Land tenure is seen as a significant indirect cause. Tenure instability is a contributing

factor to rapid erosion and farmers' reluctance to implement soil conservation

measures.” As we can see there are a lot of factors and things that directly cause this

problem as of now. The advantage and benefit of farming out scales everything that

these companies are exchanging it for. Farming is a way of life in the Philippines, it

should be spread far and wife, promoted and loved. If we do not do anything and just

leave it as it is, we will lose one of our most powerful and of our key trading points. The
Philippines is well known for its farming, how can we possibly lose it. But if we do forget

it and try to do other things, only disaster awaits us. The economy of the Philippines

would drop and the food scarcity would increase. That is why farming is an essential

and crucial thing in the Philippines. We must learn how to care, preserve and spread

this practice. It is an advantage and opportunity that we must not lose at all cost. The

future of the Philippines and its citizens

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may very well depend on it.

Reason 5 (Economic)

The mountains and caves of the Philippines is very rich and has a lot of potential

for miners and the Philippines to make an increase in the economy. Although our

country is small geographically, one must not underestimate what the Philippines can

offer when it comes to minerals and other products that we can get through mining.

Although mining is a very dangerous job for any human, we must use the resources

given to us if we want to accomplish something and grow even further beyond. (DENR-

MGB: PH Mining Sector n.d), Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 epidemic,

the mining industry in the Philippines contributed 102.3 billion to the GDP in 2020,

according to a report published on June 21 by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau

(MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).” Mining is

also an important aspect when it comes to the globalization of the Philippines and the

rise of the economy itself. The products produced and the products that we gain here

are very useful not only in the trading scene but also for the Filipino citizens. We can
say that mining in the Philippines can lead to an almost definite success. The only thing

that would stop the Philippines from mining is that we would exhaust our resources.

Yes, these resources are limited and would take a lot of time for them to produce more.

But as of now, we must use them in its full capabilities. Why not? Instead of wasting

their potential and just lay them around their, why not use it to help the Philippine

economy and the development of the Philippines itself. Mining is a major contribution to

the economy; we must also focus on this particular thing as we cannot simply waste

such potential and opportunities.

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Counterargument 5 (Economic)

We have slowly begun to lose minerals and the mountains have begun to

become a problem as landslides have become more common. Due to the excessive

mining, we have begun to lose precious minerals and now we are in danger of losing

economy and becoming more prone to importation of minerals and other materials that

can be found underground. This is a major disaster for the economy of the Philippines

and its citizens. One of the foundations of the Philippines is it mining, if we were to lose

it would simply spell the destruction of the Philippine economy. We must learn how to

conserve these precious minerals and stone as they are one of the life lines of our

country. We are also becoming more prone to buying minerals from other countries, this

is very dangerous because if we were to import more and export less, it is a losing deal.

Economy would collapse and the inflation would be very high, the Philippines is already

poor. If it will become worse, it will be almost impossible to live in this country because

of the current condition it is facing. (Group, 2022), “The Philippines will run out of nickel
in just eight years. Due to the rising demand, no additional nickel can be mined from

currently known mines with the current Philippine production levels and required

expansion quotas.” We really cannot afford to mine any longer, preservation is a must

and we must find another way to make more money as a replacement for mining. It is

simply far too risky and dangerous for us to continue in this path. Not only that, we are

also putting the lives of Filipinos in danger if we were to continue on this path, it also

spells the destruction of the environment which is definitely a disaster. We cannot have

that. We must stop mining at all cost, although finding a substitute would be difficult. It

would be better nonetheless.

10.

Reason 6 (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 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.

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Counterargument 6 (Political)

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

these countries are nothing more than a façade 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.”

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

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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 7 (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, 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

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be a stepping stone for others. It is a humiliation that we suffer in almost every way,

however no matter what we must remain proud of who and what we are. One day we

will be the ones to get the last laugh.

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

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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

resources that we can truly say that progress has been made. If one were to look at the

global economy of the Philippines, it is very small for some countries, but for us this is a

major step to the future of the country. Global economy had always been a difficult topic

and task for the current force of the Philippines, only in due time can we see the fruits of

our labor. As they say, patience is a virtue. We can only lay the foundations in the
present, so that the future generation can use those foundations to thrive and excel in

their era. This is a change in the Philippine history, and it will be marked as such.

Political integration is a very difficult and complex thing, even for me who has

researched in this topic for several days already. What makes thing complicated is

mainly the cause and effect of our actions in this world, after all in today’s era. One

mistake can very well cause you everything, power, economy, status. As I said

everything. That is why every political figure and the leading figure of these countries

are very careful when threading this path. It is an unknown path filled with treacherous

traps and danger, but we are humans in the end. So, what if it is dangerous? If it is

beneficial, we will surely do everything in our power to gain that advantage. If it puts us

at the top and gives us a huge lead or a great boost. Benefits are still benefits. If I were

the leader of a country, even I would not waste such an opportunity before my eyes. As

the gospel goes, “You must not wait for a miracle or an opportunity, you create them.”

Although I have forgotten the owner of this quote, it was a quote that I simply remember

until today. I believe I heard it from someone who was very close to my father back in

the day. He used to tell me a lot of things, and what he

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told me most was to simply believe in myself and create the opportunity I need. If only

the Filipinos had a similar mindset with mine, I truly believe that success is imminent

and it would simply come to us. This also applies to our current governance; we lack the

ambition to grow stronger and that is what makes us so weak and vulnerable. Ambition

and passion re two different things and yet they are so similar in a way. If the

Philippines were to ever rise to prominence and rise from the current situation, we are in
we must never forget who we truly are. We must be confident but not arrogant. We may

have grown but this does not mean we are invincible, fear and humility is what keeps us

alive. It must be remembered and passed on as to help and guide the youth to a mind

set that they would benefit from in the future. Thanks to the political integrations, the

Philippines has begun to modernize even more. Although it will take a lot of time to

reach the first-class world, if we were to continue in our pace then surely we will reach

that eventually. Political integration and global economics are focal points that are

essential to be studied when it comes to the growth of a country. If we cannot

understand such concepts then how can we possible evolve even further beyond of

what we currently are. Change is inevitable, we must learn to adapt and struggle

through everything. But hopefully if we were to change, it would be for the betterment of

everyone who resides in the Philippines. I had studied so much about this certain topic

and I cannot help but say that this is the most tiring and longest essay I have made. And

yet, it was the most entertaining and most informative essay I have written. I have

learned so much because of the research and time I have poured into making this. That

is why I believe that political integration and global economy are helping the Philippines

and the Filipino citizens.

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