I cannot understand why some people blame Catholicism for the poverty in the Philippines. Catholicism does not teach people to steal; on the contrary, it teaches us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. If Filipinos truly lived according to this commandment, the Philippines could have become one of the wealthiest nations on earth. The United States of America became great because of their strong Christian belief. Furthermore, a nation’s prosperity depends on many factors, including governance, institutions, economic policies, education, and the actions of its citizens. I once came across a blogger who claimed that the Catholic Church is responsible because some priests are corrupt or have secret affairs with women. But if a csertain priest engages in an immoral relationship, does that mean the Catholic Church teaches such behavior? Does the Church instruct its priests to act immorally? Of course not. Such actions violate the Church’s own teachings. Moreover, if a priest commits immoral acts, does that mean he is responsible for stealing the nation’s wealth? How many positions in the government are held by Catholic clergy? The internal affairs of the Church are distinct from the administration of the government. The misconduct of individual clergy should not automatically be equated with the policies or teachings of the Catholic Church, nor should it be assumed to explain the economic condition of an entire nation.
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The primary cause is corruption. The Philippines has remained in poverty largely because of widespread corruption in its government. Many of its politicians, if not most, are corrupt. They value money more than the welfare of their fellow citizens. Although many profess to be Christians, their actions often fail to reflect the teachings they claim to believe in. As Jesus said, they honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. One of the most well-known examples is the Marcos regime. Philippine courts have ruled that billions of dollars in assets associated with the Marcoses constituted ill-gotten wealth and ordered their forfeiture to the government. The corruption and economic mismanagement during that period contributed to the country’s severe economic crisis in the early 1980s and left lasting effects on the Philippine economy.
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The secondary cause is the frequent natural disasters that strike the country almost every year. Because the Philippines lies within the Pacific Typhoon Belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is highly vulnerable to typhoons, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. These calamities claim many lives, displace thousands of families, and cause extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, agriculture, and businesses. As a result, the country suffers economic losses amounting to millions—and in some years, even billions—of pesos, making it more difficult to achieve sustained economic growth and development.
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The third reason is the lack of informed voting. Many Filipino voters continue to elect politicians despite their poor track records and corrupt practices. Some are loyalists or political fanatics who are willing to argue with, or even estrange themselves from, family members and friends in order to defend their preferred candidates, regardless of the evidence presented against them. Others are influenced by vote-buying, choosing to support whichever candidate offers them the most money or material benefits during election campaigns. When voters fail to evaluate candidates based on their integrity, competence, and commitment to public service, corrupt and ineffective leaders are more likely to remain in power, making meaningful reforms and national progress much more difficult to achieve.
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The fourth factor that has hindered the Philippines’ development is the long-running armed conflict in parts of Mindanao. For decades, Muslim separatist movements and extremist groups have contributed to instability, discouraged investment, displaced communities, and diverted government resources that could otherwise have been used for economic development and public services. These militant groups have justified their actions by appealing to their interpretation of Islamic teachings. After discovering that Marcos intended to reclaim Sabah, Malaysia reportedly provided training and support to Moro rebels to destabilize his government. Nur Misuari, the founder of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), admitted that Malaysia had provided assistance to his movement during its early years. These historical developments contributed to the prolonged conflict, which has had significant social and economic consequences for the Philippines.
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The fifth cause that impedes the Philippine economy from growing is China. This country founded communism and supported the communist party in the Philippines before. The CPP-NPA rebels have been warring against the Philippine government for a long time. The massive human right abuse by the government of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. propelled the growth of rebellion in the country. The decades war between the Philippines and the separatist has been causing serious instability in the country that affects businesses and tourism. From China comes the shabu manufacturers that makes the Philippines a shabu market. Of course the activity of this drug syndicates cannot progress without the help of some officials in the country. Many of the politicians attracted to the fat bribes offered by Chinese syndicate. Many of the law enforcers just seize shabu for money. If a Chinese druglord is willing to pay a large sum, the officials just let the drug dealer and his shabu escaped. Just like what happened recently, where Billions of pesos worth of shabu slipped past the Bureau of Custom twice in a row. President Duterte instead of penalizing the heads of the Bureau of Custom, he just transferred them to another government positions. Government Officials in the Philippines are not afraid to commit corruption because they are backed by the president or high official. And if they get imprisoned, they comfortably live under house arrest. And most of these convicted politicians will be pardoned and released by the next president that they supported during election. China supports presidential candidates in exchange of not using the legal victory of the Philippines against China at the Hague Convention which was achieved by the Aquino administration. China also keeps harassing the Filipinos, depriving them to cultivate the oil-rich area in the West Philippine Sea even if it is well within their Exclusive Economic Zone. Chinese coastguards keep chasing the Filipino fishermen and drive them out from their own fishing ground, allowing their fishermen to monopolize the area. Today, Filipinos are now importing fishes from China which are caught from their own fishing territory.
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