GLOBALIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

The ideology of globalization was defined by Shahzad (2006) as “the expansion

of global linkages, the organization of social life on a global scale and growth of a global

consciousness, hence to the consolidation of world society”. This simple idea of

integration made the whole world advanced every year bit by bit but it also carries

difficulties. The term “globalization” is known as the current transformation of everything

in the world, but it also carries a lot of other meanings. In the sense of technicality,

globalization is usually coordinated to the increasing proportion of a certain country’s

national income committed to international trade, the increasing amounts of foreign

direct investment (FDI), and being its beneficiary, and also becoming the main source of

stock ownerships. Nevertheless, it also carries less detailed, yet very important,

implications that are related to the loss of national control, and the country’s sovereignty

(Noland & Pack, 2003). Ever since the rise of globalization, it has been continually

helping countries and states to attain a better and innovative land that people could

freely engage with anything they want. It started as a strong ideology that shaped the

minds of various country leaders to achieve a better and integrated land for their people.

Considering all the possible factors in the whole world, this specific situation could be

much difficult to achieve in other countries especially in our country, the Philippines. It is

undeniable to consider that the Philippines will take a much greater time and a higher

number of resources to complete the goal of globalization given the fact that our country

only has a limited count of resources. Globalization is unquestionably one of the

progressive transformations that our country could ever experience in the long run, but

this specific phenomenon carries a lot of difficulties and losses that may lead our
country to regression, and the roots of these consequences are considered to be an

abuse of power, poverty, and corruption.

         Globalization is just a simple process of integration where it will eventually lead a

certain country or state into a better place. In opposition, this is not always the case

because some countries are continuously attempting to adapt to this process, but they

could not afford to make progress. The reason behind their failed attempts is that

because the process of globalization takes a lot of time, resources, support, and effort

for it to be done. If a certain country did not manage to complete those factors, they will

just have to face the consequences of globalization. These consequences made them

more miserable, and this is a serious issue that needs to be solved as soon as possible

because it might lead that certain country into a much more unexpected loss. 

         In 2019, there are an estimated 100 Filipino farmers who expressed their

opposition to Rice Liberation Law at NEDA or National Economic and Development

Authority to voice out their concern to government officials in repealing the Rice

Liberation Law. Based on the article, Purugganan (2019) stated that this Rice Liberation

Law or RLL has replaced the taxes of rice imports and has caused massive impacts of

the law on poor farmers and farm workers. Because of the Rice Liberation Law, the tariff

of importing rice in ASEAN countries became 35% while the tariff for importing rice in

non-ASEAN countries became 50%. As a result of the implementation of Rice

Liberation Law, local Filipino farmers are at a disadvantage because international

imports of rice from Vietnam as well as Thailand were sold at a cheap price. Through

this law, international companies took advantage of the opportunity and transported a

large quantity of low-cost imported rice. Furthermore, Purungganan (2019) also stated

that the implementation of RLL causes the demand for local rice to decrease because
cheap imported rice floods the market. Before the implementation of RLL, local Filipino

farmers can sell their rice for at least 17 pesos per kilogram, however, because of RLL,

the price of local rice has decreased to 7-10 pesos per kilogram. Moreover, the approval

of this law has also affected a higher incidence of malnutrition and rural workers. One of

the affected sectors of the implementation of RRL is urban poor communities because

due to RRL, NFA rice became expensive and unaffordable for the citizens. 

         Another evidence of abuse of power here in the Philippines was when the local

PPE makers were complaining to the DOH regarding the issue of our country's reliance

on imported materials. According to the investigations of Canivel (2020), “Months into

the pandemic, health-care workers are still getting infected with COVID-19, prompting a

group of local manufacturers to inquire whether the government could have been

importing cheaper but substandard personal protective equipment (PPE) from China

and other countries. The Department of Health (DOH) continued to import its PPEs

such as coveralls and face masks, even after local manufacturers had developed their

capacity to make affordable medical-grade PPEs that could meet the demand of

healthcare workers on the front line.” This report shows that the DOH ignored the

capability of the country’s local manufacturers to mass-produce safe and medical grade

PPEs, and instead, the government prioritizes to buy the imported substandard

apparatus from China and other countries. This is the reason why the local

manufacturers are still questioning the DOH on whether why did they do not want to

support and help the local manufacturers to produce high-quality PPEs than to buy the

imported substandard PPEs. Canivel (2020) also stated in his report that “It was the

government that called for their help. The Department of Trade and Industry asked

manufacturers in March, at the onset of the pandemic, to repurpose their facilities to

make medical-grade PPEs.” It was simply stated that the government requested the

local manufacturers of PPEs to enhance their products to help the country and our

health workers, but after agreeing to that request the government seems to ignore the

efforts of the local manufactures. This situation is an act of abuse of power since the

government knew that those local manufacturers could not do anything about it, they

seize the opportunity to request from them. The abuse of power of both the government

and some large companies here in the Philippines is very evident, and it was the effect

of globalization. The idea of globalization corrupted the minds of some of the higher

class that they tend to abuse the means they have just to achieve their desires.

         Another example of abuse of power was when China committed territorial

expansionism in the South China Sea. Based on the report of Regan (2019) that “China

claimed historic rights to the bulk of the South China sea even though they do not have

any legal basis” However, despite the claims and territorial expansionism that China

had made still President Rodrigo Duterte decided to ignore the South China sea ruling

because the two leaders agreed to cooperate about the exploration of oil and gas last

2018. Regan (2019) also stated that Xi Jinping promised that China will give the

Philippines 60% of what they will find in their exploration at the South China Sea. Under

Duterte’s ruling, the Philippines built an economically beneficial relationship with Beijing

however; tensions between the two countries are still tense. Based on the report of

Lendon (2019), the presence of 275 Chinese vessels near the Philippines specifically at

Thitu Island has made the tensions between them tenser to which the Philippines

government filed a diplomatic protest. Furthermore, in the year 2019, Philippine Daily

Inquirer (2019) also stated in their report that “the Philippines’ fishing boat named Gem-

Vir 1 sank near the Recto Bank after a Chinese trawler hit it”. The report also mentioned
that after the Chinese trawler hit Gem-Vir 1, they decided to take off and abandon our

Filipino fisherman.

         For over a century, the rise of international businesses has been continuous in

the Philippines contributing to many factors in Filipino’s daily life, but it also intercepts

opportunities for some citizens. Philippine Orphanage Foundation (2020) stated that the

citizen’s opportunities for growth and social mobility are intercepted by international

businesses and corrupt government officials. Hence, it resulted in a nonstop cycle of

poverty in the Philippines. As mentioned in the data of the World Bank (2020), 87.2% of

the population of the Philippines live less than 267 pesos or $5.50 per day. Here in the

Philippines, it is evident enough that globalization only favors those who have the

means of adapting to it. To adjust to globalization, an individual needs to have such

means or else the side effects of globalization will make the situation difficult. This is the

problem that the Philippines is currently facing, but not everyone is not aware of it that

much. The issue of poverty here in the Philippines is not getting resolved, instead, it

kept on growing and spreading across the whole country. It might not be evident but

globalization is one of the reasons why poverty in the Philippines kept on growing. Back

in the time where globalization was introduced here in the Philippines, Filipinos are

excited to be globalized. Everyone, from the lower class up to the middle class, and

even the higher class. They all want to be integrated by globalization, that they tend to

do everything no matter how grave it is just to integrate what they have and utilize it for

their desires. This particular situation is not beneficial for the Philippines because the

only ones who can afford to be globalized are only the middle and higher class, but

there are also times where the lower class can have it too. The reason why the lower

class and some of the middle class were left behind is that because of a lack of
resources, support, and opportunities. This is the reason behind the unending poverty

here in the Philippines. 

         Globalization here in the Philippines is progressing slowly because of the

unwanted deed of some selfish politicians. One of the best examples of this grievous

deed is corruption. Avila et al. (2011) defined the term ‘corruption’ as “the lack of

transparency and accountability, ineffectual public administration, weak judicial

systems, and other manifestations of poor governance are faulted for discouraging

investment and stifling economic growth. The persistence of poverty can be explained

by this institutional deficit. Ultimately, governance has major implications for equity,

poverty, and quality of life.” As a country that is currently experiencing a moderate

economic development in opposition to the country’s increasing population. The

unwanted corruption is responsible for weakening the slight potential of the country’s

bureaucracy to execute its obligations effectively under the constitution, and it hinders

the opportunities for the political, economic, social factors to grow and integrate. For the

past decades, corruption in the Philippines has grown too bad that even the small

government offices, projects, programs, and proposals are inclined to corruption.

According to a study conducted by Radics (2001), “corruption plays an important role in

economic growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its study of growth rates in

ASEAN, found that between 1970 and 1996, the Philippines experienced the lowest

level of economic growth in the region.” In that statement, it could be concluded that

corruption inside the Philippines is both the cause and effect of the slow development of

economic globalization inside the Philippines.

Ever since the introduction of the idea of globalization here in the Philippines, it

was always favored for the higher class, and to those who have the means to gain from
it. Working hard is not always the only way to benefit from globalization, there are

certain times that support and resources are needed. The idea of globalization was

attributed also to inequality in all terms. According to Cruz (2020), “Today, the rise in

income inequality has been attributed to globalization. We have reached a point where

67 individuals around the world have a total wealth equivalent to the bottom 50% of the

world’s population. Think about this: 67 individuals have as much wealth as 3.8 billion

people.” Here he stated that the idea of globalization worsens the inequality in our

country. It is the truth that globalization may have lay positive effects on the country, it is

also undeniable that its side effects and negative effects have laid much worse to the

number of people who do not have the means to adapt to it. Furthermore, the idea of

globalization is a beneficial process of integration but along with it are countless effects

that only favors the people who have the means and resources to continuously adapt to

it.
REFERENCES:

Avila, J. (2011). Globalization, governance, and the Philippine State. Makati City: PIDS,

Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Canivel, R.S. (2020, August 22). PPE makers gripe over DOH reliance on imports.

Inquirer.Net. Retrieved from https://business.inquirer.net/305752/ppe-makers-

gripe-over-doh-reliance-on-imports

Cruz, E.S. (2020, May 24). The end of globalization. Philstar Global. Retrieved from

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2020/05/24/2016093/end- globalization?

fbclid=IwAR1dfWwA2XBlULy97YlwxEjiNpA3zO985u7nSRGwBzBA uHhVXJ9UwM-

XOC8

Lendon, B. (2019, April 2). Philippines protests hundreds of Chinese ships around

disputed island. CNN. Retrieved from

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/01/asia/philippines-china-ships-spratly-island-

intl/index.html

Noland, M. & Pack, H. (2003). Industrial policy in an era of globalization: Lessons from

Asia. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books?

id=9Fl4P84DBOgC&dq=INDUSTRIAL+POLI

CY+IN+AN+ERA+OF+GLOBALIZATION&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2019, June 23). The Reed Bank Incident. Inquirer. Net

Retrieved from https://globalnation.inquirer.net/176853/timeline-the-reed-bank-

incident
Philippines Orphanage Foundation. (2020). Why so many orphans? (PART 4).

Retrieved from https://www.filipino-orphans.org/why-so-many-orphans-part-

4/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw28T8BRDbARIsAEOMBczJljNr_TnSiyF4SkHxnymL6NrzGug

GXgFpHSUgR3j_DAlSvOsNPZcaAueSEALw_wcB

Purugganan, J. (2019, November 26). Farmers demand government to repeal rice

liberalization law. Focus on the Global South. Retrieved from

https://focusweb.org/farmers-demand-government-to-repeal-rice-liberalization-

law/#:~:text=Referred%20to%20as%20the%20Rice,tariff%20for%20non%2DAS

EAN%20imports

Radics, G.B. (2001). Globalization, corruption and the structural historical perspective.

Philippine Sociological Review, 49(1-2). Retrieved from

https://ssrn.com/abstract=2484273

Regan, H. (2019, September 13). Duterte says Xi Jinping offered him an oil and gas

deal to ignore South China sea ruling. CNN. Retrieved from

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/12/asia/duterte-xi-south-china-sea-deal-intl-

hnk/index.html

Shazad, A. (2006). What is globalization - historical background. Jadavpur Journal of

International Relations, 10(1), 204-212.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0973598406110013