Delia’s 2020 Vision of the Philippines

Coming from an article that talks of China plannning to connect different countries via railway in 2020 (http://www.popsci. com/science/ article/2010- 03/china- plans-beijing- london-high- speed-rail- link), here are my thoughts on the following items for Philippines in 2020:

Transportation. Improving infrastructure for transportation is relatively easier to accomplish compared to solving more complex problems of the country. It only takes government decision to support these projects with budget in order to make transportation easier and efficient for the public. This concern, however, gets bumped off when planning for budgets due to more graver and more urgent problems of the country.

In 2020, I doubt that there will be any drastic development on the country’s transportation infrastructure. At the rate things are going, the Philippines will just be a dirtier and more polluted place in 2010. I’ve seen pictures of different areas in the Philippines taken in the early 90’s. Although less modern, the cleanliness and order seen in the pictures is a far cry from what we have today. The continuous use of jeepneys and second-hand buses will continue to pollute our air. It doesn’t seem like there will be any change with that anytime soon.

It is a good thing that private sectors have made improvement in the travel industry. Affordable airfare makes traveling possible for ordinary juans. I wonder how airlines can sustain this, though, since their costs are highly dependent on volatile elements like fuel price and uncontrollable factors like government regulations and taxes.

Communication. Private sectors have also sped up the development of communication in the country. Cut-throat competition in telecommunications industry has propelled Philippines’ advancement in telecommunications beyond proportion to its economic advancement. The trend is to converge all forms of communication available today (i.e., use of one device for all communication needs; use of one number/account/identity in various communication channels, etc.)

Technology. We’ve discussed in Information Management class how technology will advance in years to come. No one can stop the development of better and faster technology. In 2020, there is no doubt that this will continue.

On graver and more urgent issues, though, my projection is that there will be very little development in education, health, and social welfare. Poverty will still be rampant, if not worse. Governance with integrity will still be an issue, corruption will still be severe. Hence, the comfort of advancement and development in technology can only be enjoyed by the few middle and upper class segment of the population.