Times have changed. The world is being shaken up by terrorism. The country’s economy is falling apart. Filipinos everywhere are losing hope, losing faith in a nation once held by a core of patriots and their values, a nation once an economic tiger prowling Southeast Asia, a nation, now no more than a mouse. The populace has little faith left. And the little faith they have is losing to doubt because of the corruption, because of the crime, because of the injustices plaguing are land today.
But let us not dwell within the caverns of our lowest points. Let us give each other hope. Let us renew our faith, our faith in a country that was once great and can be great again.
Everyone knows, the way to progress and competitiveness will not be easy and the journey will be perilous, but luckily we have a notion of our destination and a notion of the challenges that stand in our way.
The challenge is globalization. The challenge is terrorism. The challenge is the dwindling economy.
These challenges are present is in our day to day lives.
These are the days that we must rise up and take charge of our situation. These are the obstructions put up by the world to test its inhabitants. We, as a strong and vibrant nation, must take these obstacles head on.
Gone are the days that we may rest on our laurels and await for the fruit to drop from the tree. Gone are the days that we may sit back, relax, and enjoy the beauty of life. The world is slowly passing us by as we remain beggars on our sad little archipelago, sitting on a mountain of gold.
It’s time to take the wheel. It’s time to claim the driver’s seat. It’s time to drive our country to the promised land of milk and honey.
But then again, we still have to go to the gas station and get a full tank.
Our fuel? Simple. Statistics.
Statistics is at the heart of any true progressive result. Governments need it. Politicians need it. And the citizens need it – it holds governments accountable for their actions and their results. Think of it as a barometer of success or failure for campaign promises or a thermometer of our economic situation.
Statistics is the weighing scale of balanced development. Slow growth, low educational achievement, poor health, and civil disturbances are all accounted for when statistics enters the fold.
It helps identify the problem spots so that we may take the action necessary for those warts in our policies or agendas to fade away.
Just like the wart called poverty. How can we defeat this unforgiving adversary? We measure him up first. We take a look at the damage done or the damage that will be done. We assess the situation.
As of now our country has 14.6 percent of its population earning less than a dollar everyday...and this is according to the latest data of the United Nations. Just think, we have the largest chunk of poor in all of Southeast Asia. Still a tiger? The statistic doesn’t think so.
What about the lump of youth unemployment, the thorn in the side of the fresh graduates in the 15-24 age bracket, hopeful of the bright future their country will ideally offer them?
Unfortunately, still more bad news. From 1997 to 2001, from 15.7 percent to 21.2 percent to an improvement of 19 percent, our graduates are not getting the jobs they deserve or better yet they’re not getting any at all. No wonder they seek greener pastures in foreign lands. No wonder they succumb to the green buck rather than listen to beat of their patriotic hearts.
How ironic is this to a country that boasts a 99 percent literacy rate among the population?
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Development is in itself a challenge, though it is also goal. It is the challenge to rise above all our challenges as it is the sweetest prize of crossing the finish line unscathed.
It’s what everyone needs. But it’s not what everyone gets.
We need it. We want it. So, here’s how we get it.
We must organize our data gathering bodies. We must intensify the compilation for nationally and internationally relevant data because as one minister of finance has put it, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Bottom line: we need good quality statistics.
And we must take heed of the warning sirens, going off with the discovery of dreadful figures like the poverty rate or the unemployment rate for looming beyond is the abyss of a national breakdown, a national crisis. If we are not careful we will become the first fourth world country. And that’s not a pretty thought.
But we will prevail. There is always a bright side. There is always that soft but soulful growl of a tiger. There is always some faith left.
There is always that pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. All we have to do is follow it. Follow the hue of numbers and points. Follow accurate sums and differences, products and quotients.
Just follow our statistics. It will pave the way for a better and brighter Philippines.
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that was a piece i did for some high school student who just didn't listen to my advice...he dismantled the piece...wrote his own disasterpiece...and went down in flames...
tough luck...
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