Situation in the Philippines

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Forum: Security Council Student Officer: Esther Tak, Deputy President

Introduction For the past few years, the Philippines has faced various predicaments regarding politics, economics, and society, which continue to worsen the situation. Of all those problems, it is imperative to find solutions to President Duterte's regime and the perennial problems of poverty and natural disasters. Rodrigo Duterte was elected as the 16th Flag of the Philippines president of the Philippines in 2016 on the back of his adamant commitment to eradicate crime and corruption. President Duterte started the “war on drugs” as his prominent method to carry out his pledge; however, his rather aggressive and assertive approach has been surrounded by controversy. His policies have drawn international attention, worrying and criticizing the situation in the Philippines under his regime. The extreme poverty in the Philippines is exacerbating the nation's status quo. According to the Asian Development Bank, the main factors causing this devastating condition are low economic growth, increased population ratios, and high inequality. To make matters worse, as a country lying in the Ring of Fire, it is inevitable for Filipinos to face natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, etc.

Background Brief History of the Philippine Government To understand the current situation in the Philippines, it is important to know the history of its government. The country was under America’s colonization from 1898 to 1946, with the implementation of liberal democracy. However, the nation failed to solidify the implementation due to cultural reasons, religious beliefs, socio-economic conditions, etc. The Philippines officially declared itself to be the Republic of the Philippines on July 4th, 1946 and began the rehabilitation of destruction brought by the previous war. During this process, democracy ceased to function from conflicts regarding officials’ avarice, poor governance, and armed insurgency. In 1972, the country transformed into martial law; until 1986, democracy was provisionally removed with in favor of a dictatorship. During that period, the country suffered unprecedented repression, corruption, and economic deterioration. Democracy was restored through the People's Power Revolution in 1986;

MUNiSC Security Council however, it remains a highly defective political system and has changed into elite democracy. Hence, the current political system in the Philippines is viewed to be contentious.

The Duterte Government’s Priorities and Policies President Rodrigo Duterte’s rule shows despotic power, questioning democracy in the Philippines. He not only convened the administration at his favor but also interfered in the Senate and the Supreme Court by taking control of each agency with appointees. Thus, the government operates according to his taste without having bodies to check for presidential power. In addition, Duterte has publicly targeted the Catholics, media and leftists to President Duterte giving a speech thwart any possible voices of dissent. He even threatened the media and ordered his supporters to kill priests and bishops. Duterte's top priorities are eradicating corruption and drug crimes, two critical factors that had been affecting the social fabric for past decades. Since his election, the government has taken action to fulfill such appealing promises, but it is said to be very controversial about how they are achieving it. Duterte has shown efforts on improving the infrastructure; however, he still fails to promote economic growth and social issues such as poverty. Most importantly, despite how much he focuses on combatting illegal drugs and crime for the whole time, the statistics show that neither of those two goals has been achieved. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 published by Transparency International, the corruption rate of the Philippines has been increasing every year and is known to be the “worst regional offenders in this respect”. Duterte is practicing a campaign to cease drug crime called “war on drugs”. This campaign allows extra-judicial killings of any suspected drug addicts and pushers. Duterte gave the police tremendous freedom in the course of implementing the campaign, and as a result, the death toll was estimated at 6,000 to 12,000 people. This brutal action is receiving great international condemnation as a violation of human rights. Despite this ruthless and gruesome policy, Duterte’s approval ratings continue to be high due to strong public support for the drug war.

The Growth of the Philippines Economy It is reported that the Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. Despite many factors that have been affecting the economic growth, according to the World Bank, the economy stands strong with its annual growth rate of 6.3%. The government established a socioeconomic policy called “DuterteNomics” to develop the national economy and “catch up with

MUNiSC Security Council its more vibrant neighbors” by 2022. This policy holds ten points relating to the development of infrastructure, industry and social welfare.

Problems Raised Poverty The Philippines is showing a rather hopeful tendency toward poverty. There is no doubt that the situation in the Philippines is devastating, but the poverty rate has slowly declined over the past years. Poverty and economic growth are directly correlated, which is why the Philippines is having difficulty improving due to inconsistent economic growth and lack of public spending. The government has been making efforts to fight poverty by pursuing various anti-poverty programs, but the program is not expected to work unless the government addresses the underlying causes and conduct more research. The root causes of poverty, aside from stagnant economic growth, are unmanaged population growth and defenseless to natural disasters. Crucially, these fatal factors are causing effects such as the inability to afford housing, malnutrition, Official Poverty Statistics delivered by Dir. Reynaldo R. child labor, crime and thievery. In foresight, Cancio of NEDA the country expects to reduce their poverty rate to 13 ~ 15% by 2022 through recently built policies, The Philippine Development Plan of 2017 – 2022 and the AmBisyon 2040.

Unemployment Rate Poverty and social conditions are directly proportional; one factor greatly affects another. Inactive social welfare programs and a lack of interest in minorities are worsening the social status of the Philippines. Furthermore, as mentioned, the three main causes of poverty are causing the deterioration of social conditions in the Philippines. For the nation to reform the current situation, it is important for the government to end poverty and advance social welfare programs at the same time. The three root causes of poverty mentioned Unemployment Rate in ASEAN Countries

MUNiSC Security Council above are the derivation of all problems resulting from the severe social conditions in the Philippines. The population is skyrocketing, which worsens the situation by causing shortages in labor and resources. The unemployment rate remains almost twice high than some of its neighboring countries. Although unemployment and poverty rates have declined, the Philippines calls for tremendous development to reach the same standards as other more economically developed countries. The lack of job opportunities is forcing many Filipinos to become migrant workers, especially women. To support their families, Filipino women risk their lives and find jobs in foreign lands. Filipino women are usually employed as home assistants and service staff, which is followed by severe abuse and exploitation.

Natural Disasters Secondly, another factor in the deterioration of the Philippines’ social condition is its never-ending environmental degradation. The country is geographically disadvantaged as it lies on the Ring of Fire; natural disasters have occurred almost every year since the 1950s. Despite such repeated despair, Duterte did not do much to rehabilitate; in fact, he cut 40 percent of the Calamity Fund. Under Aquino, the budget was recorded at $7.4 billion, but only $150 million can be spent this year after two years of Duterte's presidency. Under these dangerous budget conditions, a typhoon can literally bring down the country. Incompetent disaster recovery leads to poverty, and Major volcanoes of the unemployment weakens the economy, and so on. Philippines

Healthcare Under these conditions, where the economy and social fabric are not well orientated, it is hard to expect the Philippines to have solid healthcare management. Health welfare suffers in the Philippines due to the shortage of health professionals. To make the matter worse, 70 percent of health professionals work for private facilities that only the upper class can afford. Meanwhile, in public facilities where lower income families go to, they lack medical supplies and doctors. Filipinos have long been suffering from poverty-related illnesses such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. These diseases are transmitted through polluted water, lack of hygiene and access to healthcare. Tragically, in August, the Philippines declared a national epidemic due to the outbreak of dengue fever since last January. The death toll from infectious People suffering from dengue fever in a makeshift hospital in diseases continues to rise, and the Maasin, Iloilo

MUNiSC Security Council government should do more than reduce the number of mosquitoes to prevent further deaths. The widespread vaccine scare is another factor in increasing dengue fever and measles outbreaks. The former health secretary, Esperanza Cabral, believes this epidemic will not end until the government restores public confidence in vaccines.

The Stances of the P5 Nations United States of America The United States and the Philippines are well known for their strong relationship. They have maintained bilateral relations since the 19th century and have signed a mutual defense treaty since 1951. Relations that had been so firm for decades began to sour when the former U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the "war on drugs." Duterte’s vitriol against the comment heated the tension between two countries, contradicting their “warm relationship.” So far, Duterte has taken initiatives in breaking the alliance with the U.S. In his speech, he explicitly stated, “… I will break up with America. I’d rather go to Russia and China”, further exacerbating the foreign relations. Duterte maintains a very persistent stance despite U.S. continuous condemnation of his campaign.

United Kingdom The United Kingdom and the Philippines have a cordial relationship. Philippines have received many humanitarian aids from the UK for disaster reliefs. The United Kingdom rarely intervenes in Philippine’s internal conflicts, but it has been discovered that the government sold £150,000 worth of hi-tech spying gear to Duterte last year as a support to his campaign.

France France has expressed strong disapproval of Duterte’s brutal anti-drug campaign. The French embassy adamantly claimed that “people were guilty until proven innocent in its legal system,” emphasizing on the violation of human rights in the Philippines.

China China and the Philippines have a mediocre relationship. The biggest dispute two nations had was over the South China Sea, which seems to have settled for remedy. As mentioned above, Duterte is trying to improve relations and create stronger ties with China. He even asked China to support his campaign by ceasing Chinese citizens in involving illegal drug trade in his nation.

Russia Recently, relations between the Philippines and Russia have improved greatly. The rapprochement began when the two countries forged a dramatic alliance on military issues. Russia has become an alternative ally to the Philippines as the U.S. has expressed dissatisfaction about Duterte’s policies. Russia has provided military assistance to the Philippines to strengthen its defense capabilities.

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Previous Attempts Since the "war on drugs" began, the UN Human Rights Council has not stopped to express concern and criticism over the illegal killings and arbitrary arrests taking place in the Philippines. The unprecedented campaign urged the UNHRC and other countries to take steps to protect the human rights of Filipinos. On July 11, 2019, a resolution launching an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the "war on drugs" was approved by 18 countries in favor, 15 abstaining and 14 opposing.

Possible Solutions 1) Suggest a reformation in “war on drugs” and encourage the government to value human rights. There is nothing wrong in aiming to eradicate drug crimes in the country; however, it is essential that the campaign is implemented in accordance with legal guidelines. 2) Encourage the government to focus on improving the living conditions and closing the wealth gap.

Timeline

1946 July 4th The Philippines gains independence 1972 – 1981 Martial law imposed 1986 People’s Power Revolution 2016 June 30th Rodrigo Duterte elected; start of the “war on drugs” 2019 July 11th UNHRC adopts a resolution sponsored by Iceland

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