The economy of the Philippines is the 4th largest economy in South East Asia the 36th largest

economy in the world by purchasing power parity according to the International Monetary Fund in
2009. A newly industrialized emerging market economy, it posted a real GDP growth rate of 5.3% in
2006 and 7.1% in 2007. Growth slowed to 3.8% in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis. In
2009, the real growth rate was 1.1%.[2][5] Analysts were stunned by a surprise boom of the economy to
7.3% from an expected 3.6% forecast for the first quarter of 2010.[1]

A mixed economic system, important sectors of the Philippine economy include agriculture and
industry, particularly food processing, textiles and garments, and electronics and automobile parts.
Most industries are concentrated in the urban areas around metropolitan Manila, while metropolitan
Cebu is also becoming an attraction for foreign and local investors in recent dates. Mining also has
great potential in the Philippines, which possesses significant reserves of chromite, nickel, and copper.
Recent natural gas finds off the islands of Palawan add to the country's substantial geothermal, hydro,
and coal and oil exploration energy reserves.

Makati Skyline

Philippine peso (PHP) = 100 centavos (English)

Currency
piso = 100 sentimo (Filipino)

Fiscal year Calendar year

Trade

organization APEC, ASEAN, WTO

Statistics

$161.0 billion (2009) (nominal; 48th)

GDP
$320.4 billion (2009) (PPP; 36th)
[1]
GDP growth 7.3% (2010 1st Quarter)

$1,746 (2009) (nominal; 122nd)

GDP per

capita
$3,521 (2009) (PPP; 125th)

GDP by agriculture (14.9%), industry (29.9%), services

sector (55.2%) (2009 est.)[2]

[3]
Inflation (CPI) 0.7% (September 2009)

Population 32.9% (2006 est.)[2], approx. 22% (2001-2006)[4]

below
poverty line

Gini index 45.8 (2006)[2]

Labor force 37.89 million (2009 est.)[2]

Labor force
services (51%) agriculture (34%), industry (15%)
by
(2009 est.)[2]
occupation

Unemployme
7.6% (July 2009)[5]
nt

electronics assembly, garments, footwear,

Main
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food
industries
processing, petroleum refining, fishing[2]

External

Exports $37.2 billion (2009 est.)[2]

semiconductors and electronic products, transport

Export goods equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum

products, coconut oil, fruits

US 17.6%, Japan 16.2%, Netherlands 9.8%, Hong

Main export
Kong 8.6%, China 7.7%, Germany 6.5%, Singapore
partners
6.2%, South Korea 4.8% (2009 est.)[2]

Imports $45.8 billion (2009 est.)[2]

electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and

Import goodstransport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics,

grains, chemicals, plastic[2]

Japan 12.5%, US 12%, China 8.8%, Singapore 8.7%,

Main import
South Korea 7.9%, Taiwan 7.1%, Thailand 5.7% (2009
partners
est.)[2]

Gross

external $147 bn (December 31, 2008)

debt

Public finances

Public debt $94.27bn (58.7% of GDP) (2009 est.)[2]

Revenues $23.29bn

Expenses $29.23 billion (2009 est.)[2]

Economic aid recipient. ODA, $561.7 million (2007)[citation needed]

Main data source: CIA World Fact Book

All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

Filipino exports in 2006

Graft and corruption has been a problem for several countries. I would like to emphasize on the
politics in Philippines in this article.

If you are a Filipino I'm sure you know and are familiar with the deals involving the President and the
First Gentleman or the first family. The first gentleman should not be involved in any government deals
in the first place. It is of his interest in making money
that got him involved in several controversial deals. One is the ZTE deal which was just cancelled by
the president a few weeks ago since it was revealed to the public including the money involved and
the debt it will put the Philippines to. A witness also came out to the open and talk in the senate probe
about his involvement in the said deal, despite the fact that there are a lot of death threats. When he
arrived in the Philippines, thanks to the media that people were made aware that this witness is
missing, and later on found out that his passport did not have a stamp from the Bureau of Immigration
that he entered and is in the Philippines. Which made people think that there is a possibility that he
would have been wiped out to keep his mouth shut.

Even after disclosing the deal to the public, and calling for the president to resign, it is not enough to
bring down the president. As long as the president is in control of the military. It is impossible to bring
the present administration down.

In the first place, the appointed heads or directors that are handling the military are bribed to stay by
the presidents side. And a fact that they knew that there will never be an end to this battle for power
and authority in this country they will maintain their stand to stay by the presidents side.

Even it is obvious that the president is guilty, who will the people elect to replace the president. All the
public servants are guilty of graft and corruption. It is just a matter of how much you took and how
much you give to the country in terms of what they did for the country. These public officials spend the
taxpayers money as if they own them and are asking for more.

A government should be for the people by the people, not by personal interest, it should be for the
good of all not just majority.

People should stop and think if they too are guilty, a simple example would be the traffic rules, if
drivers are caught violating any traffic rules, they will try to bribe the officer in exchange for their
license. In any government office, there is red tape, if you need your documents process immediately,
just give a certain amount of money and it will be done right away, there will be no corrupt officials if
we simply don't try to corrupt them.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is open to getting contributions for his presidential campaign from
big businessmen like the Lopezes, Lucio Tan and his uncle Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, but only if
they agree to play by his rules.

“We don’t refuse [their donations] but we have leveling off; the only thing we can promise you is a
level playing field,” the Liberal Party standard-bearer said in an interview with the Inquirer editorial
staff on Tuesday night.

“If the system abuses you, we will fix it but if you intend to take advantage through the system, let’s
just say sorry to each other,” Aquino said, speaking in English and Filipino.
The senator said that his party had a basic requirement in accepting donations—that they are not
connected in any way with illegal gambling and drugs.

“We refuse outright especially if we are not sure about the source. When in doubt, refuse,” he said.

Aquino said that being choosy on accepting campaign contributions had its risks because the donors
could just go to other parties or they might not have enough funds to partially offset the advantage of
his free-spending rival.

“I don’t want to be trapped into deciding in favor of this person’s business interest or that person’s
particular advocacy.”

Aquino said that he was very straightforward with his donors’ expectations such as tweaking the
import policy in an industry or relaxing restrictions in the transportation business.

“We don’t want to be deceitful or create an enemy down the line which is unnecessary. If they can’t
live with that, then we will not accept. We have to be true to our supporters as well,” he said.

Can’t be ordered around

Aquino said the Lopezes, whose ABS-CBN network launched his run at the presidency with its broad
coverage of his mother’s funeral last year, knew him well enough not to ask him to do something for
them in return for their support.

“Even my mother never presumed to order me around and therefore people will know that is my first
trait,” he said.

With Aquino leading the presidential surveys, the Liberal Party has been getting numerous offers from
big businessmen to contribute to his campaign for the May 10 balloting.

A source from his camp said that the Liberal Party had more than enough to last it through the end of
the elections and that they would just await the go-signal from Aquino before tapping the donors on
stand-by.

‘We are not enemies’

Aquino said that he had talked with Cojuangco, the San Miguel Corp. chair and founder of the
Nationalist People’s Coalition, on several occasions since he launched his presidency.

“We are not enemies in so many different areas. I am talking to him, but he has health matters to
tackle, so I don’t want to bother him every other day,” Aquino said.

He did not say whether his uncle would chip in to his campaign though he stressed that he would have
to live by the rules he imposed on other donors.

He said that in 2007, he asked him about the coco levy issue. He said Cojuangco told him he had left
the issue to the courts. “I will hold him to that,” he said.

Varied supporters

In a previous interview with the Inquirer, Cojuangco’s son, former lawmaker Charlie Cojuangco, said
that his family trusted Aquino but not the people around him.

Aquino admitted that he had a big group of 34 individuals with “varied persuasions” but he was taking
all the responsibility in the decisions of his campaign and his administration if elected.
He said that he found most touching the contributors to his “Piso-Piso para kay Noy” campaign, citing
several schoolchildren who had approached him in one of his provincial sorties with a coin bank
containing their contributions.

Being independent is important, he said, pointing out that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had
direct control over P600 billion of the P1.5-trillion budget. He estimated that at least half of this was
being wasted due to corruption.

DPWH takeover

Aquino said that he would like to personally take charge of the Department of Public Works and
Highways and be able to serve as the one to final set one of the government’s most corrupt agencies
straight.

He also would like to take charge of the Department of National Defense and the Department of
Education.

The Philippines and Terrorism

The Philippines is a strong political, economic and military ally of the United States and a close partner
in the global war on terrorism. With the spread of Al Qaeda across the globe and the growth of the Al
Qaeda-linked South East Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the stability and security of the
Philippines and U.S.- Philippines counterterrorism efforts take on a new urgency.

Political and Strategic Background

Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War in 1898, Spain ceded the
Philippines to the U.S. The nation was under American administration until the Japanese took control
during World War II. In 1946, the Philippines became an independent representative democracy.

From 1946 to 1992, the U.S. maintained air and naval bases in the Philippines. They were closed at the
request of the Philippine government in 1992. In 1952, the two nations forged the U.S.-Philippines
Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and in 1998, they concluded the Visiting Forces Agreement, paving the
way for increased military cooperation. The U.S. conducts ship visits to Philippine ports and engages in
military exercises with Philippine forces. In May 2003,President Bush announced that the U.S.would
designate the Philippines as a major non-NATO ally.

The Philippines receives various forms of U.S. military assistance. The International Military Education
and Training (IMET) program, $2.4 million in FY 2003, was the largest in Asia and the second largest in
the world. The Philippines is the number one recipient in Asia of Excess Defense Articles from the U.S.
military.

The U.S. and the Philippines also maintain strong trade ties. The Philippines ranks as America's 19th-
largest export market and 20th-largest supplier. The U.S. is the Philippines' largest foreign investor.

Terrorist Groups in the Philippines

There are four major terrorist groups active in the Philippines today: The Moro National Liberation
Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Abu Sayyaf and the New People's Army. The first three are
Islamic groups that operate primarily in the south of the nation, where most of the country's Muslim
minority live. The Communist New People's Army operates in the northern Philippines.

Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)

Emerging in the early 1970s, the MNLF sought an independent Islamic nation in the Filipino islands
with sizeable Muslim populations. In 1996, the MNLF signed a peace agreement with Manila that
created the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), an area composed of two mainland
provinces and three island provinces in which the predominantly Muslim population enjoys a degree of
self-rule. MNLF chairman and founder Nur Misuari was installed as the region's governor but his rule
ended in violence when he led a failed uprising against the Philippines government in November 2001.
He is currently in jail and MNLF leader Parouk Hussin took over as ARMM governor in 2002. Nur Misuari
reportedly still has a small band of followers who remain actively opposed to the current arrangement.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

The largest Islamic extremist group in the Philippines, the MILF split from the MNLF in 1977 and
continues to wage war against Manila. Headed by Islamic cleric Salamat Hashim, the MILF seeks a
separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Although it signed a peace agreement with Manila in
2001, MILF-sponsored violence has continued. Manila accuses the MILF of responsibility for the March
2003 Davao City airport bombing that killed 21 people, and for harboring members of the small
militant Pentagon gang accused of kidnapping foreigners in recent years.

The MILF has an estimated strength of 12,000 members.

Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) The smallest, most active and most violent Islamic separatist group in the
southern Philippines, Abu Sayyaf (Bearer of the Sword) emerged in 1991 as a splinter group of the
MNLF. Its founder, Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani, was a veteran of the Islamic mujahideen movement in
Afghanistan and was killed in a clash with Philippine police in 1998. ASG's current head is thought to
be Janjalani's younger brother Khadafi Janjalani.

Abu Sayyaf engages in kidnappings, bombings, assassinations and extortion from businesses and
wealthy businessmen. Most of its activities are centered in the southern island of Mindanao, but in
recent years, the group has broadened its reach. In April 2000, ASG kidnapped 21 people,including 10
foreign tourists, from a resort in Malaysia and in a separate incident, abducted several foreign
journalists and an American citizen. In May 2001, Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 20 people from a resort island
in the Philippines and murdered several of the hostages, including American citizen Guillermo Sobero.
In June 2002, U.S.-trained Philippine commandos tried to rescue three hostages being held by Abu
Sayyaf on Basilan island.Two of the hostages, including American citizen Martin Burnham, were killed
in the resulting shootout. Philippine authorities believe that the ASG had a role in the October 2002
bombing near a Philippine military base in Zamboanga that killed three Filipinos and a U.S.
serviceman.

In February 2004, Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for a Philippine ferry fire, but at this writing,
Philippine authorities doubted the claim.

The group finances its operations primarily through robbery, piracy and ransom kidnappings. Both the
MNLF and MILF condemn Abu Sayyaf's activities. Philippine forces have apprehended a number of Abu
Sayyaf terrorists. Most recently, in December 2003, Philippine soldiers captured senior Abu Sayyaf
commander Ghalib Andang, a.k.a. Commander Robot. Andang is suspected of involvement in the April
2000 kidnapping of Western tourists in Malaysia.

Today, Abu Sayyaf is composed of several semi-autonomous factions with an estimated cadre of
several hundred active fighters and about 1,000 supporters.

New People's Army (NPA)

The NPA is the military wing of the Communist People's Party of the Philippines (CPP). Founded in 1969
with the aim of overthrowing the Philippines government through guerrilla warfare, the NPA strongly
opposes the U.S. military presence in the Philippines and publicly expressed its intent to target U.S.
personnel in the Philippines in January 2002, warning that any American troops who enter their
stronghold areas will be considered "legitimate targets." The NPA primarily targets Philippine security
forces, politicians, judges, government informers and former NPA rebels. The NPA's founder, Jose Maria
Sison, lives in self-imposed exile in the Netherlands and reportedly directs operations from there.

Manila is committed to a negotiated peace settlement with the NPA but peace talks between the CPP
and the Philippine government stalled in June 2001, after the NPA admitted killing a Filipino
congressman. In September 2002, the NPA claimed responsibility for assassinating a mayor, attacking
a police station and killing the police chief, and blowing up a mobile telecommunications transmission
station.

The NPA derives most of its funding from supporters in the Philippines and Europe and from so-called
revolutionary taxes extorted from local businesses. Together, the CPP/NPA has an estimated strength
of over 10,000 members. have links with international terrorism, particularly with Jemaah Islamiyah
and Al Qaeda. The MILF is suspected of training JI members at MILF training camps in the southern
Philippines.

It is suspected that early funding and organizational support of Abu Sayyaf was provided by Osama Bin
Laden associate and brother-in- law Muhammad Jamal Khalifa. In 1997, the U.S. State Department
designated Abu Sayyaf a foreign terrorist organization.

In January 2002, Filipino police arrested Indonesian Islamic extremist Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, 31, a
self-confessed member of Jemaah Islamiyah and an Al Qaeda explosives expert. Following his arrest,
Ghozi led Filipino authorities to a large cache of arms and explosives in Mindanao and told a Filipino
court that he planned to use the explosives for jihad attacks in Asia. He was sentenced to 17 years in
prison. In July 2003, Al-Ghozi escaped from prison and in October 2003, Philippine forces tracked him
down and killed him. In November 2003, the Philippines arrested Taufik Rifki, who reportedly admitted
he was the financier for a Jemaah Islamiyah training camp in the southern Philippines.

Most recently, in February 2004, Filipino Jaybe Ofrasio, 31, was arrested in Belfast,Northern Ireland,
and charged with funneling money to JI.

The U.S. designated the CPP/NPA a foreign terrorist organization in August 2002, and listed NPA
founder Jose Maria Sison as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Authorities in the
Netherlands froze assets in his bank accounts there and cut off his social benefits.

Anti-Terror Initiatives and U.S.-Philippines Counterterrorism Cooperation

The Philippines combats terrorism through political, legal and military means. The U.S. assisted the
Philippines in amending their anti-money laundering legislation to meet international standards, and
Manila passed its revised legislation in March 2003.

Washington also installed the Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP) in the Philippines with equipment,
software and training to enhance their capacity to secure their borders.

U.S.-Philippines law enforcement cooperation is strong. In 2002, the two nations' law enforcement
agencies cooperated to bring charges against 15 Abu Sayyaf terrorists, implement an extradition
treaty and train some 700 Filipino law enforcement officers.

The Philippines receives anti-terrorist financial assistance from the U.S. Following Philippine President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's May 2003 visit to the U.S., Washington pledged to provide new funds to the
Philippines for training and equipping Philippine forces to deal with terrorist groups and funds to spur
development in the Mindanao region, where Islamic extremists are based.

In 2002, the U.S. sent about 650 American advisers to train Philippine soldiers in counterterrorism
techniques. The Bush administration proposed sending U.S. combat troops to the Philippines in March
2003, but was met with strong Philippine opposition to the idea.

What has become of education in the Philippines?

The state of the educational system in the Philippines is a great cause for worry. We used to produce
students who were well-rounded and ready for the challenges of the real world. Today, for every 10
children who start their primary education, only 6 go on to continue with their secondary education,
and 4 will manage to enter college. What happened? Other countries used to send their students to
the Philippines to learn, now they've overtaken us and are the experts. Isn't that frustrating?

I hope to be able to make some sense about the decline in the quality of education, and with the help
of people as concerned as I, do something to change for the better.

Key Issues in Philippine Education

Literacy rate in the Philippines has improved a lot over the last few years- from 72 percent in 1960 to
94 percent in 1990. This is attributed to the increase in both the number of schools built and the level
of enrollment in these schools.

The number of schools grew rapidly in all three levels - elementary, secondary, and tertiary. From the
mid-1960s up to the early 1990, there was an increase of 58 percent in the elementary schools and
362 percent in the tertiary schools. For the same period, enrollment in all three levels also rose by 120
percent. More than 90 percent of the elementary schools and 60 percent of the secondary schools are
publicly owned. However, only 28 percent of the tertiary schools are publicly owned.

A big percentage of tertiary-level students enroll in and finish commerce and business management
courses. Table 1 shows the distribution of courses taken, based on School Year 1990-1991. Note that
the difference between the number of enrollees in thecommerce and business courses and in the
engineering and technology courses may be small - 29.2 percent for commerce and business and 20.3
percent for engineering and technology. However, the gap widens in terms of the number of graduates
for the said courses.

On gender distribution, female students have very high representation in all three levels. At the
elementary level, male and female students are almost equally represented. But female enrollment
exceeds that of the male at the secondary and tertiary levels . Also, boys have higher rates of failures,
dropouts, and repetition in both elementary and secondary levels.

Aside from the numbers presented above, which are impressive, there is also a need to look closely
and resolve the following important issues: 1) quality ofeducation 2) affordability of education 3)
goverment budget for education; and 4) education mismatch.

1. Quality - There was a decline in the quality of the Philippine education, especially at the elementary
and secondary levels. For example, the results of standard tests conducted among elementary and
high schoolstudents, as well as in the National College of Entrance Examination for college students,
were way below the target mean score.

2. Affordability - There is also a big disparity in educational achievements across social groups. For
example, the socioeconomically disadvantagedstudents have higher dropout rates, especially in the
elementary level. And most of the freshmen students at the tertiary level come from relatively well-off
families.

3. Budget - The Philippine Constitution has mandated the goverment to allocate the highest proportion
of its budget to education. However, the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to
education among the ASEAN countries.

4. Mismatch - There is a large proportion of "mismatch" between training and actual jobs. This is the
major problem at the tertiary level and it is also the cause of the existence of a large group of
educated unemployed or underemployed.
The following are some of the reforms proposed:

1. Upgrade the teachers' salary scale. Teachers have been underpaid; thus there is very little incentive
for most of them to take up advanced trainings.

2. Amend the current system of budgeting for education across regions, which is based on
participation rates and units costs. This clearly favors the more developed regions. There is a need to
provide more allocation to lagging regions to narrow the disparity across regions.

3. Stop the current practice of subsidizing state universities and colleges to enhance access. This may
not be the best way to promote equity. An expanded scholarship program, giving more focus and
priority to the poor, maybe more equitable.

4. Get all the leaders in business and industry to become actively involved in higher education; this is
aimed at addressing the mismatch problem. In addition, carry out a selective admission policy, i.e.,
installing mechanisms to reduce enrollment in oversubscribed courses and promoting enrollment in
undersubscribed ones.

5. Develop a rationalized apprenticeship program with heavy inputs from the private sector.
Furthermore, transfer the control of technical training to industry groups which are more attuned to
the needs of business and industry.

Philippines Infrastructure Report 2010

Industry Forecasts With elections due in May 2010, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD government has been
shoring up popular support by doling out funds for infrastructure and social projects to cushion the
economy and keep job losses at bay. Indeed, the Arroyo administration in August 2009 submitted a
record PHP1.5trn (US$32bn) national budget proposal to the House of Representatives for 2010,
representing a 7.5% increase on the previous year.
Against this backdrop, we estimate growth for the Philippines’ construction sector in 2009 of 2.9% in
real terms, thereby likely outperforming the economy as a whole. Strong government-sponsored
activity in the power (and transport) sectors, together with a recovery of the wider economy, should
ensure that the Philippines registers strong construction sector growth in 2010. Indeed, we predict that
the sector will expand by 9.4% in real terms. Overall, construction sector growth should remain
positive during the remainder of our forecast period (at an average rate of 8.5% per annum across
2011-2014), given the country’s low base of infrastructure development and strong potential economic
growth.
However, risks to this upbeat outlook are largely to the downside. One key concern is the country’s
fiscal deficit. Although a recovery in global financial markets since the turmoil of late 2008 has meant
that the Philippines government currently has no problems in funding this deficit, a double-dip global
recession could quickly change this situation. Indeed, a renewed downturn in the global economy
would not only reduce the country’s fiscal revenues, but also likely cause a fresh spike in global
investor risk aversion, potentially forcing the Philippines government to stop spending on big-ticket
infrastructure projects during 2010.
Company Profiles Key operators in the Philippines’ infrastructure market appear to be faring
reasonably well in the face of the global economic downturn, thanks to continued state-funded growth
in the country’s infrastructure sector and also state-sponsored spending in external markets. Balfour
Beatty, the main parent company of First Philippine Balfour Beatty, saw its underlying pre-tax profit
(before exceptional items and amortisation) rise 14% y-o-y in H109 to US$178mn. EEI Corporation also
registered encouraging results in H109 – consolidated net income rose 15% y-o-y to PHP292mn
(US$6mn). We have introduced an evaluation of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) this quarter, due to its
increasing involvement in infrastructure activity. In SMC's Q209 results, it noted a 508% increase in
profit to PHP52.9bn (US$1.1bn).
Foreign relations of the Philippines is administered by the President of the Philippines and the
nation's Department of Foreign Affairs. Much of the republic's international relations are dominated by
the Philippines' ties to its Southeast Asian neighbors, United States, and the Middle East.

The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations;[1] it has been an elected member of the
Security Council[2] and has participated in FAO, International Labor Organization (ILO), UNESCO and
World Health Organization (WHO). Like most nations, the republic is a signatory of Interpol. The
Philippines is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit and the Latin
Union. It was formerly a member of the now-defunct SEATO. Declaring itself as independent of any
major power block of nations, the Philippines is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Economically, the Philippines is participant in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Asian

Development Bank, the Colombo Plan, Group of 24, G-20, G-77, the World Bank, Next Eleven and the
World Trade Organization (WTO).

Globalization In The Philippines

Last week's report by Artemio Cusi III in BusinessMirror said globalization has cushioned the impact of
the political crisis in the country. That's correct. The Philippine economy is no longer what it used to be
twenty years ago. Trade reforms ushered in by the country's tariff reform that (surprise! surprise!)
started in the waning years of President Ferdinand Marcos and accelerated by the country's
participation with the World Trade Organization (WTO) were the reasons for this. About two-thirds of
the country's gross domestic product (GDP) are now accounted for by the globalized sectors of the
economy comprising merchandize exports, services exports (ie business process outsourcing), and
remittances by overseas Filipino workers.
All these globalized sectors of the Philippine economy are really the ones preventing the country from
tearing apart. A lot of fresh graduates are finding jobs in call centers, medical transcription business,
litigation support, among others. Call centers alone need 50,000 workers each year! Had it not for
these outsourcing companies, those kids might have vented their frustrations in "people power"
gambits by politicians. Of course, close to $14 billion (i.e. $12 billion coming through formal financial
channels and another $2 billion through informal channels) translates to P728 billion worth of
purchasing power. It's this volume of money that is making our factories and the services sectors (e.g.
finance, real estate, telecommunication, wholesale and retail, business services) busy. Agriculture
itself, given good weather, is now capable of growing at 4-6 percent, boosted by the sector's greater
access to inputs, bio-medics, and packaging materials.
Oil prices have been rising owing to increasing demand from China, India, and United States as well as
the continuing geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East. Yet, inflation in the country has been
relatively manageable. Again the reason for this is globalization. Trade liberalization...

In this article, the writer maintains that the Philippines consists of weak, self-serving state institutions
that are ill-suited to the task of managing domestic affairs let alone integrating the Filipino economy
with the world economy. The writer discusses that, despite repeated efforts to embrace economic and
trade liberalization in order to ride the wave of globalization to increased prosperity, the Philippines
has only managed to repeatedly demonstrate the inherent problems at the social, institutional, and
bureaucratic levels. The writer concludes that this has been the legacy of globalization in the
Philippines: distracting concerted development of the country with promises of significant, if
fundamentally uncertain, economic wealth.
Samsung has launched its latest gadget called Samsung Digital Camera ST80. It has a 14.2
megapixels camera and also supports a Wi-Fi to send images via email. This digicam has a DNLA
connect to easy send your pictures and videos, and direct upload to some media sharing networks like
Facebook, Youtube, Photo Bucket, and Picasa without using P.C.

Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani Windows Mobile 6.5

Friday 30 July 2010 @ 11:59 pm

Samsung has announced its latest mobile phone dubbed as B7620 Giorgio Armani. This new
handset features a tilting touchscreen display with a 3.5-inch super amoled display and has a 800×640
pixel resolution. This latest technology is a joint venture of Giorgio Armani and Samsung. Other key
specifications include a 5 mega pixels camera with autofocus, LED flash plus Geo-tagging, face and
smile detection, wide dynamic range, image stabilization, panorama shot, and print them directly
through BPP / Pictbridge mobile printer.

HP TouchSmart tm2t Core i3-i5 Multi-touch Tablet

Thursday 29 July 2010 @ 10:40 pm

HP TouchSmart tm2t is the latest technology of HP. This 12-inch convertible tablet is powered by a
CULV Core i3, i4 or Core i5 processor and it has a multi-touch LCD that can be twist 180 degrees. It
has a aluminum design with “Riptide” engraved illustration wrapped in a lightweight & quiet chassis
weighing 4.72 pounds. Other features include 4GB RAM, a 500GB hard drive, optional new 512MB ATI
Mobility Radeon HD 5450 switchable GPU, and Bluetooth. The TouchSmart tm2t has a price tag of
$805 plus free shipping after an instant discount and HP coupon code.

Nokia’s Upcoming Technology: Nokia N8

Wednesday 28 July 2010 @ 8:28 pm

Nokia has recently announced its latest technology called Nokia N8. This new handset has a 3.5 inch
capacitive touch screen display with a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. This mobile phone is not just an
ordinary phone; it is equipped with a digicam-like powerful 12 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss
lens and a Xenon flash. The video recording capabilities of this handset can record 720p which is really
superb and can be played using a media player which supports even DivX formats so you get high
quality video playback too. Captured images, footages and other files can be stored on its 16 GB
internal memory, which can be extended by using a microSD card supported up to 32 GB.

Nokia X5-01: Mobile for Teens?

Tuesday 27 July 2010 @ 11:36 pm

Nokia has announced its latest handheld device called Nokia X5-01. This handset features a 2.36”
display with 320 x 240 QVGA resolutions. This QWERTY keyboard phone also has four directional
navigation buttons. The X5-01 has also the capabilities to tap social networking not only texting and
the common usage of mobile phones. The phone itself looks big but actually it only has a dimension of
74.3 x 66.44 x 16.85 mm. It is also looks like that this latest technology main target is the teens who
loves social networking like facebook, listening to music and watching videos in the net.

Sanyo Xacti CA100 Underwater Camcorder

Monday 26 July 2010 @ 11:58 pm

Looking for a waterproof camcorder with high end features? Then check this latest camcorder called
Sanyo Xacti CA100. The latest waterproof HD camcorder is now available and can capture 14
megapixel still images and can record footage at up to 60fps even under water to a depth of 3m. The
CA100 has a pistol grip design and comes 2 colors: pink, black and yellow. Its video camera has 5x
optical zoom (12x digital) and is compatible with Eye-Fi cards so you can transport your snaps straight
to the web via Wi-Fi. The Sanyo Xacti CA100 has a retail price of £349.

Wortmann AG Terra 2200 all-in-one desktop PC

Sunday 25 July 2010 @ 7:58 pm

Wortmann AG has announced its latest all-in-one desktop PC called Wortmann Terra 2200. This all-
in-one desktop computer has a 21.5-inch touch screen display with Full HD resolution. It is powered by
a 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 dual-core processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9100MG graphics card, 2GB of
memory, 500GB hard drive, 1.3-megapixel webcam, a multi-format DVD writer, stereo speakers, 7 USB
ports, audio ports and a 4-in-1 card reader. The Terra 2200 comes pre-installed with Windows 7
Professional operating system and is now available for purchase via the company’s online store for
869 Euro (about $1,130).

HyperMac Stand Doubles iPad Battery Life

Saturday 24 July 2010 @ 7:16 pm

As you can see every now and then there are new docks created for our iPhones and iPads. Maybe
these dock manufacturers seems to know that our gadgets will need this on the long run. That’s why
they keep on producing accessories for our iPhones and iPads. But this time they have invented a dock
that will give your iPad extra hours of usage with this HyperMac stand with external battery for
only $129.99. This time, it’s not just an ordinary dock rather it has the capabilities to hold your iPad
either 18 or 45 degree and a built-in 40 watt hour rechargeable lithium-ion battery which is said to
extend the usage of your device to 16 hours.

A-Data N909 USB: eSATA and USB 2.0

Friday 23 July 2010 @ 1:16 pm

A-Data technology, one of the many manufacturers of DRAM modules and flash drives from Taiwan
has announce its latest and the first USB flash drive called N909 that features eSATA + USB 2.0
COMBO interface at the same time. The N909 USB.20 has a read speed of 90MBps and 50MBps for
write speed. It has a sleek aluminum casing and cool lime-green LED. It is available in three models,
the capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The N909 can transfer large amount of data very fast; 4GB of
AVI files in 59 seconds. The A-Data N909 USB flash drive 2.0/eSATA has a price of € 38.62, € 68.15 and
€ 122 respectively.

Zen Z82 QWERTY phone with TV

Thursday 22 July 2010 @ 11:06 pm

Zen has once again unleashed its latest technology known as Zen Z82. Just last week they’ve
introduced one of their handset called Zen Mobile X390 and now they are in the news once more. The
Z82 is the very first QWERTY keypad mobile phone that has a TV with 2 megapixel camera, and multi-
colored track ball. It has a 9mb of internal memory that can be extended up to 4GB, mp3 player, FM
radio and recorder, and Bluetooth connectivity. This handset has support for dual sim technology
which is really good if you have more than 1 sim.