People

The great majority of the people of the Philippines belong to the Malay group and are known as Filipinos. The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers.

The Philippines is currently the third-largest English speaking country in the world.

The Philippines has a population of 99,900,177 (July 2010 est.)

EnvironmentThe Environment of the 

Philippines is prone to natural disasters, particularly typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis, lying as it does astride the typhoon belt, in the active volcanic region known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, and in the geologically unstable region between the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates.

The Philippines also suffers major human-caused environmental degradation aggravated by a high annual population growth rate, including loss of agricultural lands, deforestation, soil erosion, air and water pollution, improper disposal of solid and toxic wastes, loss of coral reefs, mismanagement and abuse of coastal resources, and overfishing.

Environmental issues

DeforestationAfter decades of deforestation, which

has left about 3% of the original cover, forests continue to be under threat from agriculture and urbanization, illegal logging and forest fires. 

Sustained forest loss in the Philippines is causing severe soil erosion, and is threatening the country’s rich biodiversity. This is particularly worrying as many of the Philippines’ species,

which depend on these forests, are endemic (they cannot be found anywhere else in the world). For example, of 180 native terrestrial mammal species here, about 61% are endemic.

Inconsistent laws, inadequate regulations, weak enforcement and lack of funding are making forest conservation a major challenge.

Water pollutionAlthough water resources become

scarce in some regions and seasons, the Philippines as a whole has more than enough surface and groundwater. However, the neglect of a coherent environmental policy led to the actual situation, in which 58% of the groundwater is contaminated.The main source of pollution is untreated domestic and industrial wastewater. Only one third of Philippine river systems are considered suitable for public water supply.

According to the Asian Development Bank, the Pasig River is one of the world's most polluted rivers. In March 2008, Manila Water announced that a wastewater treatment plant will be constructed in Taguig. The first Philippine constructed wetland serving about 700 households was completed in 2006 in a peri-urban area of Bayawan City which has been used to resettle families that lived along the coast in informal settlements and had no access to safe water supply and sanitation facilities.

Air PollutionThe  World  Health  Organization

has  reported that air pollution killed about  7  million people globally in 2012,  making   it  the world’s greatest  environmental  health  risk.  The air in Philippine  cities  is not quite  as polluted as  that in India and  China. But  we should  not  wait until we reach their level of pollution.  Let  us take all necessary corrective action now.

The  air pollution  in Metro  Manila  is  caused largely  by motor  vehicles – 70 to 80 percent; only  20  to 30 percent is caused by industrial emissions and other stationary  sources.

Coastal infrastructure development

Coastal zone development has been particularly damaging to the Philippines’ marine environment, especially to coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses. 

As populations have increased, so have their needs for construction materials and living space. Excavation, dredging, and coastal conversion to accommodate coastal development have seen corals being extracted for reclamation and construction, especially in coastal villages.

Mangroves have particularly suffered from coastal development, notably at the hands of the aquaculture industry. In the Philippines, aquaculture has reduced mangrove stands to only 36% of 1900 levels.

Overfishing and destructive fishing

Fishers in the Philippines are increasingly coming home with pitiful catches. Of a number of factors which have led to this situation, one stands out: over-fishing in many areas. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), there has been a drop of 90% in the quantity of marine organisms that can be trawled in some traditional fishing areas of the Philippines. 

This isn’t just a question of declining fish stocks and biodiversity, but also of social impacts and economic losses. Mismanagement of fisheries resources is estimated to cost US$ 420 million annually in lost revenues.

At the root of the overfishing problem is weak fisheries management, ineffective policies and poor enforcement of fishery laws.

Soil erosion- is a serious threat to the

sustainability of agricultural systems in the Philippines, as in many intensively cultivated regions of the developing world, yet the ultimate causes of erosion are complex and poorly understood. If erosion is to be addressed adequately by farmers and policymakers, the root causes must be dealt with. Most approaches to erosion in the literature and in practice hypothesize that erosion may be adequately

controlled at the farm level through the use of appropriate technologies. In this study, farmers and key stakeholders with knowledge of the upland agricultural system in the Philippines pointed to a more systemic understanding of the root causes of erosion, which implicated poverty and landlessness as primary drivers. The technical knowledge of erosion researchers must be brought together with the systemic understanding of agricultural workers “on the ground” if a sustainable soil management strategy is to be created.

Pollution

Only about 10% of sewage in the Philippines is treated or disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The rest goes back to nature – usually the sea. 

In this context of poor waste treatment and high population growth, water pollution is a growing problem for the country’s groundwater, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. Polluting industrial material is also found in abandoned mining areas, with mercury pollution affecting water bodies in these areas.

These problems are unfolding in a context of poor planning, and weak management and enforcement of regulations. 

Is there a Caste System in the Philippines?

The Philippines is not India or Pakistan. But better believe it, there is a caste system in the Philippines. The caste system exits between the rich and the poor, between educated and uneducated, and to a lesser extent between the Filipino-mestizos and the “browned-skinned and flat-nosed” Filipinos.

Let me start with the clash between the rich and the poor. It is well known that the Philippines is not really a true democracy but an oligarchy. Oligarchy is defined by Webster as a form of government in which the supreme power is in the hands of a small exclusive class. This exclusive group are the rich. If you live in the Philippines, you know or have heard of a few families that run our country as well as our business. And what about the poor? They just suffer and accept what is handed to them, good or bad!

The second item is the clash between the educated and uneducated. The educated usually had comfortable lives, excellent social status, travels, eat in five-star restaurants and also send their children to excellent schools. The uneducated have lower social status, do the menial jobs and if lucky can get jobs as farming tenants, personal maids, or drivers of the rich and educated Filipinos.

In Marinduque, there are hundreds of tenants who work for the rich landowners. These folks were raised as Roman Catholics, but only go to Church twice a year, during Christmas and Easter. When invited to your house in town, they will not enter your front door. They enter the back door. Entering the front door is bad manners. They will not eat at the same time with you, even though you invite them. They will wait until you are finished before they eat.

On the last item of heritage, Spanish mestizos versus brown skinned Filipinos. Today, this is not so blatant. But during my grandparents and parents time, the mestizos feel they are superior in terms of social standing and race. My grandparents speak fluent Spanish as well as local dialect (Tagalog or Ilonggo) and are the elites of society. The mestizos would look down on the non-mestizos or even the Chinese Filipinos. In Marinduque, a few decades ago,

if you were Filipino-Chinese, you would not be invited or included in the social activities of the “socialites”, even though you are doing well as a businessman. It is only today that it is no longer a social taboo to invite the non-mestizos to your home for socializing. During my grandparents' time, it was also a taboo to marry outside your social class. Children of the rich are discouraged to associate with children of families that reside on the “other side of the river” (similar to American expression of the “other side of the railroad track”).

Natural Resources

OceanBeing surrounded by the ocean, it

is no surprise that the Philippines relies on the waters as an important natural resource. There are more than 640,000 square miles of territorial waters in the Philippines and within these waters, there is an abundance of marine life and materials that are

valuable to the nation's people and those across the world. At least 65 species of the 2,400 available species in Filipino waters have solid commercial value, and the crabs, seaweed, pearls and other ocean treasures make the sea among the top resources for this archipelago

MineralsThe Philippines is not a petroleum-

rich country, but the land is still full of many valuable minerals. There are an estimated 21.5 billion metric tons of metal deposits in the Philippines and 19.3 billion metric tons of nonmetal minerals in the ground. Nickel is the most abundant deposit in the Philippines, while iron and copper are also present in significant amounts.

Major CropsThe volcanic history of the

archipelago combined with the wide plains available throughout the nation make the Philippines a prime spot for growing crops for domestic use and export. The Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Negros are among the many places with fertile soil in the Philippines.

This land is the nation's primary source of livelihood. The chief crops of the nation include rice, corn, sugarcane, abaca and tobacco, according to the Philippine History website. The rice and corn are used domestically, but the rest is used as a major export. The Philippines also exports a number of pineapples and bananas.

FloraThe tropical climate in the

Philippines makes it an ideal location for flowers and plants. The islands have more than 2 million species of plants, and several of them are found nowhere else on the planet. Much of the flora in the Philippines, while diminished by over harvesting, is used as an important natural resource as ingredients in commercially exported products.

Fishery ResourcesWith its territorial waters measuring as

much as 1.67 million square kilometers and located in the worlds fishing center, the Philippines is definitely rich in marine resources. Of the 2,400 fish species found in the country.  65 have good commercial value. Other marine products include corals, pearls, crabs andseaweeds. Some of the countries best salt water fishing area’s are found in Sintangki Island in Sulu Estancia in Bohol, Malampaya in Palawan, Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan, San Miguel lake in Camarines Norte, Bantayan Channel in Cebu, and the seas of Quezon and Sorsogon.

LandThe Philippines’ primary source of

livelihood is its fertile land. Rich, wide plains suitable for farming are found in the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, South western Bicol, Panay, Negros, Davao, Cotabato, Agusan and Bukidnon. The country ‘s six major crops are rice, corn, sugarcane, coconut, abaca and tobacco. Except for rice and corn, all these products are exported, along with bananas and pineapples.

Forests Most of the Philippine forest

cover is located in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Luzon island, Palawan, Eastern Visayas and Mindanao. The country's forests are a home to some of the world's rare and most endangered species of plants and animals. Approximately 14,000 plant species are found in the forests and

approximately 45 to 60 percent of these species are endemic, which means that they are found only in the Philippines. The country ranks fifth in the world in terms of number of plant species. On the other hand, there are a lot of threatened plant species: 99 plants are identified as critically endangered species, 187 are classified as endangered, 176 are listed as vulnerable and 64 plants are considered as threatened species.

Technology

According to the Technology Index of 1982, the state of Science and Technology of the Philippines is defined to be – 0.1 compared to U.S, the world is technology leader, which is 100.

The technology index denotes the country's technological readiness. 

Thank You for

listening!!!!Prepared by:

Joycee H. Gamgam BEED III-A