World Economic Forum in the Philippines

Photo source: World Economic Forum and Flickr Creative Commons

World Economic Forum East Asia was held in the Philippines last month, from May 21 to May 23. This is one of the signs that the country is moving one step forward. Philippines is one of the fastest emerging markets in Asia; recently, Standard and Poor upgraded Philippines credit rating to BBB.

It is seen that Philippines started to show some signs of consistent economic growth in the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III. The 15^th president of the country promised to fight corruption and uplift the lives of the Filipinos upon assuming the office on June 30, 2010.

The promised of President Nonoy to fight corruption was felt by the Public. The exposition of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scam claimed the headlines of every news papers.  The recent updates on the issue suggest that there will be a long battle between the accused and the prosecutor. Office of the Ombudsman filed at the "Sandigan Bayan", the anti-graft court of the Philippines, plunder and graft charges against Bong Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Jinggoy Estrada last June 6, 2014. The three senators are now facing arrest because of the charges.

The fight for corruption is visible, yet, the economic growth figures are not felt by majority of the population. This shows that majority of the benefits were reaped by wealthy and few were grasped by the poor. Add the fact that more people are looking for jobs than jobs being produced; which is a global phenomenon.

The structural economic problem of the country which results to poverty cannot be solve overnight. The next leader of the country should be prepared and should continue to work on the "straight path".