Marty de Jesus

B14

NEW WORLD ORDER

The Philippines, as a developing nation and economy, experiences all the effects

of globalization, including political and economic integration. Since it is part of

international organizations such as the United Nations and the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations or ASEAN, a number of political and economic regulations are being put

on the Philippines, some even being perceived as detrimental to the nation entirely.

However, as a growing nation, the Philippines can greatly benefit from these

processes of globalization, specifically in growing its economy and further

stabilizing its political structure.

Being part of the ASEAN is one of the contributing factors to the Philippines’

economic growth, as all members of this international organization mutually benefit from

trade. Since movement of goods, services, capital, and others, is free among members

of the ASEAN, members can further integrate into the global economy and attract

investors (ASEAN, 2020). The Philippines is not exempted from this, as much of the

economic growth can be attributed to these benefits, and members of the ASEAN do

not yet have a single centralized market or currency akin to the EU. For the aspect of

foreign investors as well, they are more likely to have economic partnerships with the

ASEAN as a whole rather than individual countries, which in turn, is also good for the

Philippine economy.
 Some consider this aspect of economic integration for the Philippines as negative

since it could mean the loss of national sovereignty and control of the economy by the

government. The Philippines also has its periods of economic fluctuation just like other

nations, yet these are not caused by its economic integration with other countries, but

the mistakes on behalf of government policies. Besides this, when the COVID-19

pandemic hit, the Philippine economy suffered a decline of 9.6% in its GDP annually

(Biswas, 2021), the most it has ever been, but still not related to its economic

integration, especially with the ASEAN.

The Philippines is not exempt from the political integration brought about by

globalization, and another organization having a political impact on the Philippines is the

United Nations or UN. By virtue of being a member, the Philippines therefore also must

conform to certain political standards such as democracy and human rights. The UN,

formed after World War II, made its mission to establish international peace and proper

standards of living, benefiting all of the nations belonging to it. Also, from being a

member of the UN, the Philippines benefits from the help the UN provides, such as

when typhoon Haiyan hit (UNSDG, 2022), and the UN provided humanitarian

assistance.

Critics may say that the Philippines is too politically integrated, and that the

nation lacks sovereignty, but this is not yet the case for the country. Of course, it is

important that the Philippine government remains responsible for leading the nation,

and that too much political integration has detrimental effects, but as of now, since there

has not been too much controversy or occurrences where Philippine sovereignty was
trampled by allies, especially the UN, this has not yet happened and is not likely to

happen if the Philippines is competently ruled.

To conclude, political and economic integration for the Philippines has been

beneficial in many ways, yet not all aspects of this kind of globalization is beneficial to

all nations. In order for real benefits to happen, there must still be a balance between

sovereignty, market integration, and foreign accountability.

References:

Biswak, R. (2021). Philippines Economy Hit by Rising COVID-19 Wave.

https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/mi/research-analysis/philippines-

economy-hit-by-rising-covid19-wave-apr21.html#:~:text=The%20Philippines

%20economy%20suffered%20a,the%20Philippines%20commenced%20in%201946.

UNSDG. (2022). Philippines. https://unsdg.un.org/un-in-action/philippines#:~:text=The

%20UN%20has%20been%20a,adhered%20to%20over%20the%20years.

ASEAN. (2021). Economic Community. https://asean.org/our-communities/economic-

community/#:~:text=Through%20Free%20Trade%20Agreements%20(FTA,internal

%20market%20for%20foreign%20investment.