In terms of median per capita GDP growth, I like to think of the Philippines as Southeast Asia's underachieving half-sister. It has many of the socioeconomic factors in place to stage a middle class renaissance, but elements that range from endemic poverty, crippling economic fallout from the (US-backed) Marcos regime, and entrenched corruption have contributed to one of the widest gaps between the rich and the poor in the world.According to the CIA World Factbook , 32.9% of the population lives below the poverty line. Filipino economist Solita Collas-Monsod noted that "the number of people living in [...]]]>