WHEN you see the new skyways, highways and other expanding infrastructure in the Philippines, look to Japan as the source of many loans that helped build them. The Philippines’ foreign debt is at a record $125.4 billion as of last December. There is interest to be paid on that, and most of the loans came from Japan, the world’s third-biggest economy, and the Asian Development Bank. The money is paid to Philippine corporations to build airports, bridges, roads and other infrastructure.
The Philippines is one of the poorest countries in the world today. It is ranked 72nd on Global Finance’s poverty index, with 20 million Filipinos in dire poverty.
The root causes of this poverty are well-documented. It starts with a corrupt political system where powerful political dynasties (with some exceptions) control an incompetent and somewhat immoral government with politicians who circumvent the rule of law for their gain. Money to lift the poor out of poverty, for example, is instead spent to buy votes and keep these politicians in power.
Then there’s the massive inequality in wealth distribution. A tiny percentage of the country’s 115.6-million population owns 46 percent of the national wealth. Read the research of Andrew J. Masigan. There are 17 known Filipino billionaires and 19,000 millionaires in 2021. The latter figure is expected to increase to about 33,000 by 2026.
The superrich could have a change of heart and mind and be of great benefit to the Filipino poor if they share their wealth and have development programs implemented to provide well-paid jobs to the estimated 1.6 million unemployed adults and directly benefit the impoverished, abused, exploited and hungry 20 million Filipino women and children.
The superrich would do well to follow the example of Zacchaeus, the corrupt tax collector who, after meeting Jesus, repented and had a change of mind and heart. He vowed to give half of his wealth to the poor and pay back those he cheated four times as much (Luke 19:1-10). That might be too much for rich Filipinos, but they must share as Zacchaeus did.
The Philippines is rich in natural resources. In contrast, Japan has almost none, so their loans are loaded with self-interest. Japan provides 80 percent of all low-cost loans to the Philippines. Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster struck in March 2011, that nation’s power supply has been greatly impacted. In response, Japan turned to its other power source: gas. The country is the world’s biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Relying on this energy source now makes Japan far from being carbon-neutral.
Consuming LNG is deadly and causes global warming. It must be replaced with renewable sources of energy instead of expanding its use to produce electricity. In fact, Japan is looking to the Philippines to fulfill its need for gas, of which our country has huge and undeveloped resources. (To be continued)/PN
