The Filipinos are generally easygoing, and have coped for centuries with poverty and corruption. They want peace and a more equitable society. Will they achieve what they so richly deserve? Regrettably, the divisions within the elite are great and, whoever wins an election, the opposition will do its utmost to ensure the failure of the government. Furthermore, the fostering of a greater public conscience is necessary if people are willingly to pay their taxes, and graft and corruption are finally to be eliminated. Until there is greater unity and a deep desire for a more equitable society, the Philippines will have a struggle to break free of its shackles of poverty.