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‘Self-sufficiency over liberalization’

 Although liberalization has good effects in our country, we cannot deny that it has a more significant adverse effect on agriculture. So I believe in the call of farm groups to prioritize self-sufficiency over liberalization. The lack of support for farmers and fishermen has been a problem for us for years. Many of them lack resources, which makes it also difficult for them to have enough food on a daily basis. I also think that the government should allocate a competent budget for each farmer and fisherman so that they will not have to sell their crops to exploitative buyers. Many cannot even have their crops bought at a fair price, which is always the reason why most of them stop planting. If this kind of system continues in our country, we will not be able to achieve the self-sufficiency that we seek.

The rising cost of commodities is another issue our farmers and fishermen currently deal with. The idea that these people provide food for our table while they have nothing to eat is sad. Things got much worse when the pandemic broke out since "everything appeared to stop," and there was inadequate government assistance for the people.  For that reason, our government should increase the agricultural budget which will be an avenue to create new programs that covers all agricultural products. Being self-sufficient means that the country can support itself and is not dependent or reliant upon other countries, so it is crucial that we do not only focus on one area of the overall sector. Moreover, I believe that our government needs to be strict on agricultural product smuggling, as the malpractice in our agriculture industry is constantly reported in the press, but it seems that nothing has been done about it. That is also why I do not believe the stereotype that the poor are lazy, for the reason that farmers and fishermen are examples of how, no matter how hard one work if that person does not have a voice and privilege, they have a lower chance of succeeding in life. That being said, I concur that our nation's agricultural policy has to be fixed, and in order for us to have food security and for our agriculture sector to become more productive and self-sufficient, our government should provide financial help to the famers and fisher folks alongside imposing harsher punishment for those who smuggle agricultural goods.

Utilizing the capabilities of government agencies like the Department of Science and Technology, which have technologies that can boost crop production, is another option I see to improve our agricultural system. Additionally, there are State Colleges in our country that can aid in performing research and development, as the students at these universities are the ones who are most familiar with the local agricultural condition. It is also time for us to listen on our scientist and researchers, even better if our government will appoint these professionals on the positions where they are needed.

All in all, we need an organized plan from all levels of society so that we can fix our flawed system because through that, we will be able to fight inflation, lift our domestic production, and eventually, make our country less food insecure and more self-sufficient.

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Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators 

Since then, I have heard a lot of negative things about POGOs, but like most people, I did not have an opinion on it because I knew for myself that the information I knew was limited. After doing my research and learning enough about the matter, I agree that we need to ban these Philippine offshore gaming operators as the moral harm they cause outweighs the economic progress they provide. Since POGO currently occupies 5% of all leasable office space in the country, it is impossible to deny that POGO has a significant impact on the growth of the real estate industry. Many claim that the POGO ban will cause the real estate market to collapse, but I completely disagree. Despite the large amount of space that may be made available, there are other industries that could occupy it, such as the business process outsourcing industry (BPO), where a demand of over 200,000 square meters is anticipated until 2028. And I also wonder: why not create an alternative solution to this problem rather than worrying about the money we will lose? Focus on creating sustainable, self-sufficient, and income-generating projects in other sectors, such as IT and agriculture. This approach will benefit more Filipinos because agriculture and IT are vital to the Philippine economy. The agriculture industry employs roughly 40% of Filipino employees and generates 20% of the country's GDP. While IT on the other hand, aid in promoting innovation and enhancing the nation's business environment, both of which are essential for sustaining the digital economy. Another reason why I agree with the banning of POGOs in the Philippines is because of the detrimental consequences they have on our tourism industry. Since 2016, many Chinese tourists have entered our country to work in the POGO industry. Most of them are forced to do illegal things such as online scamming, e-mail spoofing, extortion, and many other types of cybercrime. Potential investors steer clear of our nation as a result of this negative image illegal operations in POGOs have given us. The rescue of 43 foreign nationals employed in this sector is one of the numerous instances of kidnapping for ransom. The latest information I gathered indicates that there have already been 17 kidnapping incidents connected to POGO this year. Aside from this and other gambling related activities, there are also reports of human trafficking, which only strengthens my argument on abolishing this industry in our country. As all the above points have demonstrated, everything that POGO brings us does not justify its continued existence. With corruption so widespread in our country, I do not think that our government has the capacity to regulate this industry properly so the best course of action is to just abolish it.

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Global Market Integration

In the 20th century, the process of boosting international trade and investment was the main focus of global market integration. Technology, transportation, and communication advancements have assisted this process of making the world economy more integrated. To expound on this, the advent of containerized shipping, which has made it simple and less expensive to send goods throughout the world, is one of the factors that have led to the growth of transportation. Another thing is the advancement of telecommunications which we all have seen firsthand, since the pandemic forced us to maintain social distance and rely solely on the internet for communication. In terms of technology, the development of refrigerated transportation facilitated the delivery of perishable goods to different parts of the world.

Global market integration can provide us a wide range of advantages. This includes enhanced technology, cash flow, and access to global markets. Businesses' market reach increases as a result of having access to global trade and sales. Another advantage of global market integration is the improvement of a nation's cash flow. By having foreign cash flows, this is made possible. Positive cash flow happens when a country attracts greater foreign investment. This typically occurs when foreign investors have a high level of confidence in the government of a country and can clearly see that the economy of that nation is growing. A country's cash flow condition can be improved by a continual inflow of capital since it gives the government more money to invest and support program initiatives such as helping businesses to have an expansion. The last and third advantage of global market integration is the advancement of technology. This help countries gain access to new markets as a source of capital and because it results in fierce market competition, which in turn encourages countries to invest in cutting-edge technologies to keep up with others.

These advantages of improved technology, cash flow, and access to international markets are also evident in the context of the Philippines. Global market integration has a significant positive impact on the Philippines' ability to attract more portfolio and direct foreign investment as a developing nation. These positive capital inflows will contribute a sizable amount of funding to initiatives that will promote economic expansion and development as well as numerous job opportunities for Filipinos. Global market integration may also make it more convenient to access international markets. As a result, the Philippines will have more opportunities to offer their goods and services on the international market, which will result in an increased their revenue and profits as well as creating more job prospects for the populace. Since this access to global market may also have adverse impacts on small businesses if not properly regulated, it is crucial that the government plays its role of preparing to bring these enterprises to the global market. They can accomplish this by establishing an environment for business that supports national progress and growth. Some of the programs and activities they can do to accomplish this goal include funding assistance for startups along with creating training programs, and also consulting with business experts. Access to advance technologies is another positive impact of international market integration in the Philippines. Trading with many nations is one way to do this, as it exposes the Philippines to new products and processes. Additionally, a lot of foreign businesses have chosen to establish operations in this country because the process has been made simpler by the integration of the world market.  Coca-Cola, Honda, and Samsung are just a few of the foreign businesses that have opened up business in the Philippines. 

Given all these advantages, the Philippine government should take measures to ensure continued use of these advantages. They can, for example, pursue policies that reduce tariffs and other barriers and can promote trade and investment. But it is crucial that they avoid making the Philippines dependent on other countries while doing this. This will happen if they place a high priority on self-sufficiency and favor domestic industry and agriculture. Alongside this, it is also important to develop the business environment of the Philippines to make it attractive to foreign investors. A few approaches for doing this include maintaining infrastructure investment, streamlining the bureaucracy, and enhancing the rule of law. Lowering bureaucracy can help in this by making it easy for businesses to operate. It can also aid in eliminating corruption, another obstacle towards doing business in many countries. As for enhancing the rule of law, it can be done by strengthening the enforcement of rules and regulations and increasing transparency and accountability throughout the legal system, this will go a long way toward establishing an appealing business environment.

Overall, global market integration has more benefits than drawbacks, as it can promote growth and development through increased economic cooperation. Integration of the global economy also has the ability to bridge cultural gaps which is very essential in creating a more unified and understanding society.

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The Social Dilemma In recent years, technology's detrimental consequences on our physical, mental, and emotional health have come to light. Turns out that technology and social media is much deeper than what it appears to be and it also causes problems in our lives without us being aware of it. Technology addiction is a severe issue that can lead to social isolation, sadness, anxiety, and other issues that have an impact on our social relationships. This documentary is incredibly eye-opening and will make us pause and think about the effects of social media and technology on our daily lives. Addiction is one of the significant issues covered in the documentary, which occurs because social media is made to be addicting. It makes use of tools like notifications and likes to draw us back and encourage interaction with the notifications we get. This is really harmful to us because we are wasting the time that could be spent on more important tasks by simply browsing through our social media accounts. Another thing about this addiction is how we always seem to lose track of time. As for my experience, one hour is not enough for me to browse on social media. I am aware that my habit is very wrong but at the same time, I didn't know how to break free from it, and that is the problem with addiction. Isolation is another problem brought on by social media and technology. When we spend too much time on social media, we start to isolate ourselves from those around us and lose the ability to engage in the activities we once found enjoyable. Even I, admit to having this issue, there are times when I am so self-conscious about what I see on social media that I stop going out or hanging out with my friends. During these times, what I always think about is that they might judge me or they might criticize my body. If this isolation continues, anxiety and depression may develop. There are several ways in which social media and technology are related to depression. An example of this is when we believe that we have so many inadequacies in our life that would result in envy. Over time, this unpleasant emotion would grow on us and will eventually lead to depression. Because of this, it might also damage our connections with friends and family. We will become accustomed to conversing with them via chat rather than in person, which will lead to a communication problem, and as a result, misunderstandings and conflict may also arise. This documentary made me realize that there are a lot of things that we are not aware of in terms of how social media works. One of these is how these technology companies use us as guinea pigs to test out their new products or features. They often have ulterior motives behind the things they do, and their ultimate goal is usually to make money. Although I have nothing against their goal of making money because that is the essence of doing business, what I have a problem with is how they do it. Just like what they said in the documentary, social media is not a neutral tool that is waiting to be used. It has its own complex system with their hidden goals and agendas, which often uses our own psychology against us. As there is no guarantee whether there would be changes on social media platform to make it less addicting, I think that we should start taking precautionary measure protect ourselves on these adverse effects of technology and social media. One of the best ways I could think of is to use a VPN on all of our devices. It is very important that we are aware of how our data is being used. In that way, we can protect ourselves on being taken advantage of. In conclusion, it is very critical for us to be aware of the all the hidden agendas that drive many technological corporations as they frequently result in social isolation, depression, anxiety, and it can also have an effect on our personal relationships. 

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Labor Migration

 Although there are pros and cons to labor migration, I really agree that it should just be a choice and not something that people have to do out of necessity. This problem and mindset of migrating to other country as the ultimate Filipino dream would only come to an end if the government would act out to create a significant economic development in the country.

             Behind the money and good lifestyle given to us are the exploitation, abuse and discrimination experienced by OFWs in other countries. Some of them are even paid less than the minimum wage and put into lengthy shifts in unsafe working environment. According to the data gathered by Committee on Filipinos Overseas, 70% of the OFWs in Saudi Arabia alone, experienced verbal, physical, and psychological abuse. These are just some of the things that we can avoid if we can limit the Filipinos who are forced to work in other countries just to find good economic opportunities. Aside from this, we can also avoid to have our OFWs be treated as second-class citizens which usually results in denying them basic human rights and protection.

 There are a lot of ways to put an end to this labor migration in our citizens. One of the steps that should happen is for the government to invest more on the education and creation of job opportunities in our country. They could do this by investing on a lot of training programs that would help Filipinos gain the skills needed for them to be employed. In that way, people will not think that they will have good opportunities only in other countries and would just decide to settle here. The government can also offer small businesses some financial incentives that would help them expand and create new job opportunities for the people. Another option is for them to loosen up some rules and bureaucracy that come with establishing a new business venture which can make it simpler for business owners to generate new employment opportunities. Another way that they might do is to simplify some requirements to make it easier for companies to obtain approval for business opportunities. As an entrepreneur, I believe that by establishing a regulatory body that would be in charge of examining and approving innovative business ideas would be a great help in improving the business environment in our country. The last option I could think of is to exclude small firms from requirements that may be burdensome for them, such as financial reporting requirements, or make the procedure for filing their reports be less complicated so that they would not be discouraged to open up their own business.

 If the things mentioned above happen, it will be easy for us to fix the labor migration issue. Also associated with the solutions mentioned is that there would be increase in wages and there will be a better working conditions for us Filipinos. In these ways, labor migration will be a choice and not something that we would do out of necessity.

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Food Security If we give it some thought, we can easily see that there is a strong connection between globalization, sustainable development, and food security. This is because the interconnection and interdependence of the economies, cultures, and populations of the world are central to the concept of globalization, and these processes are made possible by advancements in communication, transportation, and technology. Additionally, these elements aided in boosting global trade and hastening the dissemination of new ideas and techniques. On the other hand, sustainable development is the notion that economic progress should be balanced with how we safeguard the environment and how to meet the requirements of future generations. The development must be socially just, and environmentally sustainable. One of the most important results of having a sustainable development is the food security. This refers to the accessibility and availability of food that is both affordable and nourishing for everyone. If every member of a nation's population has access to the food they require for a strong, healthy body, then we may say that nation is food secure. There are various difficulties currently affecting global food security. One of these is the rising demand for food as the world's population keeps growing. By 2050, the world's population is projected to reach 9.7 billion, making access to food challenging if this problem is not addressed. Impact of climate change on our agriculture is another obstacle to attaining food security. Drought and unexpected floods that harm our farmers' crops are only two examples of the many issues and calamities that climate change brings about. The production of food is disrupted as a result of this. Another challenge is the use of fossil fuels in agriculture, which increases greenhouse gas emissions and further worsens climate change. Lastly, there is an issue with global food security due to the unequal distribution of food. Global hunger has decreased overall, yet there is still a substantial difference in food supplies between nations. Some of them can't even get the right amount of calories their bodies need since they don't even have access to basic necessities like water. These difficulties are extremely apparent when seen in the context of the Philippines. The population of the nation is continually growing, and the United Nations projects that it will reach 139 million people by the year 2050. Given how flawed our current agriculture system is, if this issue is not resolved right away, demand and pressure will increase. Another issue the Philippines is dealing with to maintain food security is climate change. Typhoons and floods are unavoidably common in our country, and most of the time our farmers are unable to protect their crops. This ultimately impairs the nation's food production. Last but not least, the Philippines exhibit an unbalanced distribution of food between urban and rural areas. This is due to the fact that the majority of Filipinos still live in poverty and are largely unemployed, making it more difficult for them to obtain the food they need. If I were to be elected as president of the Philippines, I will implement policies that I believe will help to address the aforementioned issues and ensure that my nation can achieve food security. The first proposal I will make is to increase local production of food by giving small and medium-sized farmers better support. Here, they will have access to the funds, modern infrastructure, and cutting-edge technologies they will need to support and expedite their work. As a result, they are able to feed the Filipino people without suffering a financial loss. As president of the Philippines, I also need to concentrate on maintaining the food safety and quality of the foods produced in my country. The implementation of stronger food safety rules is a solution for this. Strict rules and standards also call for continuing to fund research and development to discover new strategies for enhancing and facilitating the nation's food supply. In order to combat the effects of climate change, I would also place a priority on establishing a resilient food system. This includes creating new farming techniques and methods as alternatives so that adequate food can be produced even in the event of a crisis. To share ideas on achieving food security, the Philippines can also collaborate with our neighbouring nations. This would help boost the productivity of the country's farmers and increase the supply of food. All in all, it is very important for the Philippine government to ensure that we achieve food security under their jurisdiction, since it is one of the core reasons for a country's development and it is also one of the key things in enhancing human life. By implementing the policies mentioned above, we can make sure that everyone in the country has access to the safe, affordable and nutritious food they need, especially now that we are facing a pandemic.

[adarakimb]

I only aspire to be a woman who finally learns to love waking up early in the mornings, loves her career and what she does every single day. Someone who gets to travel all over the world whenever she wants and is financially stable to do so. Is in love with life and has so much happiness in her heart.

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Come back to me. Always.

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Come back to me. Always.

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Come back to me. Always.

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“We hold on tightly Hold on to something that was never really ours”

—

Nicholas A Browne | Haiku 544

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some of u bitches r trying your hardest to stay positive and hopeful despite all the bullshit you’ve been going thru and it really shows and i’m proud of u

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What I hate most about “someone always has it worse” rhetoric is that not only is it minimizing, it also promotes the act of using other people’s misfortune to feel better about your own situation. Instead of actually caring about the people who “have it worse,” you’d rather use their situations to say “Well, at least it’s not that bad.” I think that is such a hideous character trait and it’s very interesting that it is so often associated with good qualities like optimism and appreciation.

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just saying but i think i had a pretty rough year and i deserve some of that romantic love type stuff

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i need someone to hold my hand and tell me I’m okay cause i feel like I’m fucking breaking

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“and that was the thing about her, she kept on surviving. with bullet holes in her lungs, and knife marks etched in her back. she never let anything get in her way, resilient. a fighter, not by choice. but a warrior at heart.”

— k. azizian  

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Nalulunod ka na naman sa karagatan ng paano

Kahit alam mo na kaya mo naman na languyin ito

Nagpapadala ka pa rin sa alon ng mga blankong tanong

Nagpapakalunod ka kahit hanggang paa mo lang naman ang lalim nito