Philippines - People
From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture. 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 close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino.
The Filipinos are divided geographically and culturally into regions, and each regional group is recognizable by distinct traits and dialects - the sturdy and frugal llocanos of the north, the industrious Tagalogs of the central plains, the carefree Visayans from the central islands, and the colorful tribesmen and religious Moslems of Mindanao. Tribal communities can be found scattered across the archipelago.
Popular belief holds that the majority of Philippine people are descendants of migrants from Indonesia and Malaysia who came to the islands in successive waves over many centuries and largely displaced the aboriginal inhabitants. Modern archeological, linguistic, and genetic evidence, however, strongly suggests that those migrants originated in Taiwan and went on from the Philippines to settle Indonesia and Malaysia.
The largest ethnic minority now is the mainland Asians (called Chinese), who have played an important role in commerce for many centuries since they first came to the islands to trade. Arabs and Indians also traveled and traded in the Philippines in the first and early second millennium. As a result of intermarriage, many Filipinos have some Asian mainland, Spanish, American, Arab, or Indian ancestry. After the mainland Asians, Americans and Spaniards constitute the next largest minorities in the country.
More than 90% of the people are Christian as a result of the nearly 400 years of Spanish and American rule. The major non-Hispanicized groups are the Muslim population, concentrated in the Sulu Archipelago and in central and western Mindanao, and the mountain aboriginal groups of northern Luzon. Small forest tribes still live in the more remote areas of Mindanao.
Philippines - Language
About 87 languages and dialects are spoken, most belonging to the Malay-Polynesian linguistic sub-family. Of these, eight are the first languages of more than 85% of the population. The four principal indigenous languages are Cebuano, spoken in the Visayas; Tagalog, predominant in the area around Manila; Ilocano, spoken in northern Luzon, and Maranao and related languages spoken in Mindanao.
The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one. Since 1939, in an effort to develop national unity, the government has promoted the use of the national language, Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. Filipino is taught in all schools and is widely used across the archipelago. Many use English as a second language. Most professionals, academics, and government workers are conversant or fluent in English. In January 2003, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Department of Education to restore English as the medium of instruction in all schools and universities. The Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in the developing world. Approximately 93% of the population 10 years of age and older are literate.
Philippines - Indigenous People
Indigenous people live throughout the country but primarily were concentrated in the mountainous areas of northern and central Luzon and in Mindanao. They numbered over 14 million persons or 16 percent of the national population in 2010, with more than 63 percent of the total in Mindanao. Although no specific laws discriminate against indigenous people, the remoteness of the areas that many inhabit and cultural bias prevented their full integration into society. Indigenous children often suffered from lack of health, education, and other basic services.
NGOs estimate that up to 70 percent of indigenous youth left or never attended school because of discrimination they experienced. According to a local NGO, only 21 of 1,700 local government units in the country complied with the requirement of the 1987 People's Rights Act for the mandatory representation of indigenous persons in policy-making bodies and local legislative councils.
Indigenous people suffered disproportionately from armed conflict, including displacement from their homes, because they often inhabited mountainous areas favored by guerrillas. Their lands were often the sites of armed encounters, and various parties to the fighting recruited many indigenous people. The Task Force for Indigenous People's Rights (TFIPR) lobbied for an appropriate mechanism through which indigenous people could be recognized as an official party and represented in peace talks.
Philippines - Health
Dengue is a serious public health issue because it is placing a significant weight on hospitals and other health care services. The most common disease outbreaks are foodborne diseases such as cholera, salmonellosis and shigellosis. The top leading causes of death or illness in the Philippines is attributed to infectious diseases. Illness related to the respiratory system such as respiratory infection, pneumonia and bronchitis are the top three leading causes of illness.
Endemic communicable and infectious diseases in the Philippines include malaria and a group of distinct diseases that are generally classified as neglected tropical diseases (NTD). Malaria is considered highly endemic in 5 provinces, endemic in 57 provinces, and 22 provinces are completely malaria free. Overall, the government has made great progress in controlling malaria, and it is likely that it will no longer be considered highly endemic in the coming years.
However, NTD’s do not have the same hopeful prognosis. These diseases include lymphatic filariasis (elephantitis), schistosomiasis, and soil transmitted helminthiasis (STH). Lymphatic filariasis is transmitted from infected persons to others via mosquitos. Common in rural areas, it causes excessive swelling of the lymphatic system. The disease was endemic in 44 provinces in the Philippines as of 2014, despite the government’s National Filariasis Elimination Program (NFEP) which had been in place since 2000.
Schistosomiasis and other STH’s are diseases caused by parasitic worms generally associated with agriculture and fishing. Endemic in 28 provinces, STH’s are spread via inadequate sanitary and waste management facilities, lack of potable water, ignorance of healthy practices, and poor eating habits. Symptoms are wide ranging (from fever to intestinal discomfort), but treatment is relatively uncomplicated via widely available drugs. Children are at greatest risk due to symptom-associated malnutrition during growth stages.
Philippines - Demography
The demographer Frank Notestein's theory of demographic transition classifies all societies into one of three stages. The first is pre-modern: high death rates cancel out high birth rates, and population grows very slowly if at all. Most of the world was in this stage of large families and many deaths until the early 20th century. The second stage is characterized by a sharp drop in deaths (due to accelerated gains in education, public health measures, and food production), while birth rates remain high. Population grows rapidly. The Philippines, like most of Asia, entered this stage in the 1960s.
The third stage occurs when economic and social gains combine with lower infant mortality rates to reduce the desire for large families. Birth rates slow to again achieve equilibrium with mortality rates, but at much lower levels. The urgent question in teh 1990s was what happens if and when countries fail to complete the demographic transition to the third stage and remain locked, as the Philippines was, in the second. Instead of a demographic transition, the Philippines found itself in a demographic trap.
The age structure in most countries all over the world has created a rare window of opportunity for them to experience rapid economic growth over a relatively long period (Mapa DS 2015). Following the theory of the demographic transition, there will be a turning point when a country that has high fertility and mortality rates will experience low fertility and mortality rates. During this period, the working-age population is greater than the young and old dependent population. With fewer people to support, appropriate social and economic policies in place, and the right investments made, there is a window of opportunity to spur economic growth and development, considered as the first demographic dividend.
Lasting for a generation or so, the gains of the first demographic dividend can be transformed into a second demographic dividend if middle-aged workers are able to save for their retirement and to accumulate assets such as properties and funded pensions during their working years. This lessens their dependence on government and their families and allows them to be financially independent once they reach old age. As in the first demographic dividend, sound financial policies and mechanisms must be implemented to allow older people to accumulate capital and savings they can allocate for productive investments and secure their financial future.
With the fertility rate of 3 in 2013, the Philippines tied with Laos for having the highest fertility rate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines is experiencing a slower demographic transition due to its continued high fertility rate and it will be at 2050 when the country will have a favorable demographic condition compared to Vietnam, but without the important opportunities to save and invest (outcome of the first and second demographic dividend) that Vietnam will experience from 2010 to 2050.
A study spearheaded by the National Economic and Development Authority and supported by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), called the “Demographic Sweet Spot and Dividend in the Philippines: The Window of Opportunity is Closing Fast” [July 2016] showed the “high probability that the Philippines will miss the rare opportunity of additional economic growth.” This is due to the relatively high fertility rate, or the average number of children by women, especially the poorest, and the relatively high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth sector.
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