Filipinos Were Born Rich

INTRODUCTION
“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trusting, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

            Filipino, a race that is Asian by geography but has little in common with other Asian nations. A hard working, industrious, and very strong family oriented people, but notoriously useless at organizing anything beyond chaos as a nation of people. These were the descriptive words we barely read as we came to type the word FILIPINO through the internet. Yet, we as a researched group came to realize one thing: Filipinos were naturally what they were—humble with richness in many respective aspects in them. Don’t you feel excited in knowing what those are? First and foremost, the purpose of this researched paper was to highlight the wonderful facts-slash-reality that Filipinos have many reasons to have a positive lifestyle as they get along merely with the negative authenticity and news they daily hear about our beloved country. This was specifically design to inform every Filipino that we are rich through many things and to also encourage to help improve what we already have, be more creative for our economy’s progress, stay being who we are as Filipinos, cheer up  as we receive different awards in sports and other related cores, be reminded of our heroes’ history and never lose hope! 
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Rich in Natural Resources 
"Curiosity led me to the island of paradise. This made me discover the hidden wonders of the land of the Orient Seas."

                That feeling brought me in searching for some related web pages where I can find surveys or articles that will open my naked eyes of the reality why westerns embrace the fact that the Philippines is one of the poorest countries despite of its rich natural resources. One page answered that corruption rots our country and Filipinos themselves have no devotion nor feeling of responsibility in maximizing the use of our natural wonders. Meanwhile, an entry stated that some resources are undeveloped while those which are developed are owned by western businessmen in the country. Others argue that country's officials are selfish to the extent that they use natural resources for their own sake rather than for the prosperity of the Philippines. It was neither shocking nor alarming to learn all those opinions (it seems that somewhere inside me expects those presented ideas already.) Being a Filipino helps me realize all the statements being said was partly true. I can't blame them. On one side of my mind, I disagree but the other side approves.

                Nevertheless, didn’t you know that our country is blessed with many natural resources? It has two distinct seasons: dry and rainy. Dry season usually falls during November to April while rainy season falls in May to October. Dry season does not mean there is no occasional rain. Same is true with rainy season where sun also shows some of the days. This season pattern supports rich flora and fauna of the country. Forest area is around ¼ of the total 300,000-square- kilometer land area of the country. With 7,107 islands, its coastline is one of the longest in the world. Around 2,400 fish species are found in the country. Many are for home consumption and for exportation. There are also wonderful beaches in many islands of the country which have captured the eyes of the world. Some of them have gorgeous collections of corals, reefs, clams and other marine creatures. Boracay Island Beach with white sands, clear water and palm tree lined ranks among the world’s top beaches. Our Tubbataha Reef National Park in Sulu is also a UNESCO heritage site with amazing displays of marine life. While living here in the Philippines, many existing expats, mostly married to Filipinos have enjoyed living in the Philippines. Davao, Butuan, Bohol, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Tablas Island, Leyte and Samar are found to be ideal retirement places. Your monthly income/pension, which may only allow you to live ordinarily in other countries, may already afford you to live a luxurious life in the Philippines. This is because of the cheap living standards in the country due to abundant supply of natural resources and low cost of labor.(Filipino Heritage, 2012)

                Filipinos have this attitude for fighting for what they own; one ideal example would be the country's claim on some of the islands in South China Sea. While we are strongly inserting our rights over these islands we miss the fact that we have so many riches that are being infiltrated by foreign investors wherein they gain more than us. The westerns utilize our backyard for their own interest yet we keep quiet, we don't care because we really don't or we don't have the ability to make use of these gifts.

 Foreign critics consider this small, silent country in the Pacific to be just a poor group of islands, a nation which bears a third world country status. But then, do these critics ruminate on every factor that this country has, its potentials and capabilities in establishing a  strong economy. The Philippines admits that this country is far, far away from the economies of United States, United Kingdom, France, or even from its Asian neighbors like Japan and South Korea but it's too much to put us on the third world bracket.

                This country has so much to offer, not only to its people but to the world. In fact, our tropical rain forests are among the most species-rich ecosystems on earth. Our primary source of livelihood is our fertile land ----- rich, wide plains which are very suitable for farming. Also, the Philippines boasts its wide tracts of lush, green forests with almost half of country's total land area.

                         Here’s the certainty: Never have we considered money as the basis of Philippine growth and development. We have so many valued things to take care of; we should be grateful for so much blessings God has been giving us despite of controversies, weakness and every single sin or failure we made against the nature. But you know it always takes time to learn the lesson beyond those experiences and tragedies because we all fall short; yet we humbly acknowledge what we own.      

            On the brighter side, although we are still a third world country, the country's progress is being lauded by foreign critics. Recently, our country has achieved a higher credit rating from BB to BB+ which means that we are one lower below from an investment grade economy. This is a result of good governance and proper utilization of our riches. Slowly, the government and its people are learning to maximize the usage of its natural resources. This will help the country to attract more investors that will improve the country's finances. Yes, we need investments from other countries. It may sound cliche but the saying "No man is an island." is really true, to further progress and develop we need help from richer countries but of course with hard work and faith in our own riches capabilities.

            Who said that this country is going nowhere? Well, we are here to tell you that the destiny of this nation is intact, new businesses are going to be built through our concealed natural treasures, new entrepreneurs are going to rise up and help us use our unseen abundance with millions of reserves. As we exploit our riches, we need to put in mind that we also need to take care of this because our mother earth has her way of getting back on us if we destroy her. Letting foreign countries exploit our riches is OK but we need to regulate and learn to stand up for our natural resources when it's too much.

            It all starts from knowing who Filipinos are and that we are already made rich by God. From there, all wisdom and creativity to create money will flow. The Filipino people are resilient, talented, and wise and have the ability to make it in life! The Philippines has rich legacy and culture that nourishes its people. Talented artists were born here and created works with nature. I hope to see the Filipinos continuously cherish natural resources and preserve the ethnical culture for the next generation. The Philippines is a rich nation whose untapped natural resources are readily available to propel us into greatness! “Being rich is within Filipinos reach.”                                                                                                                                CONCLUSION                                                                                                                                                                          Filipinos claimed to be poor by different breeds of people—they might declare this when it comes to monetary matters but, is it the quantity of coin, bill or check that their country owns that determines whether its people is poor or not?

It is not the countless coins and bills inside their country’s central bank that makes Filipinos rich but is a reservoir containing an archipelago with 7, 107 amazingly crafted land pieces, hundreds or even thousands of brave and patriotic heroes, numerous who are continuously rowing titles and making history in the field of sports and a mass of people with a good heart, strong will power, faith in God and most of all, a race of people who have so much to be proud of their abundant natural resources to which they make a creative living; blessed with diverse and amazingly beautiful natural spots.