Philippines
From Gothpoodle
- Population: 185 million
- Aspects: Stable, Powerful, Third Wave
The Philippines began the 21st century in a state of drift, suffering from internal corruption, widespread poverty, and ethnic insurgency. Despite this, the nation had a fairly strong democratic tradition and a sound economic base. Local development proceeded slowly but steadily. By about 2050 the Philippines were a stable and moderately prosperous country.
Unfortunately, the era of stability was short. During the tumultuous 2060s, nanosocialism became quite popular in parts of the country. The central government managed to prevent a nanosocialist takeover, with the aid of the influential Catholic Church. In 2065 the Philippines joined the Pacific Rim Alliance in an attempt to fend off further nanosocialist advances. The strategy was moderately successful at first, but in the wake of the Pacific War the Philippines saw a revival of guerrilla warfare in the southern islands. The Muslim populations of Mindanao and other islands are strongly nanosocialist, and since 2088 they have been fighting a vicious war for independence with covert Indonesian support.
Parts of the Philippines enjoy a thriving Fourth Wave economy, especially around the capital of Manila. The country has always faced extreme difficulty in distributing wealth, however, and many outlying regions remain poor. Also, the strong Catholic influence has prevented Philippine biotechnology from advancing in certain directions. With very few exceptions, human cloning, human gengineering, and the construction of humanform bioroids are all illegal in the Philippines. This has not prevented local gengineers from working extensively with nonhuman DNA.
