The Situation of Social Stratification in the Philippines

Social Stratification is a classification whereby people rank and evaluate each other as higher and, based on evaluations; inequality rewarded one another with wealth authority, influence, and status. It is the hierarchical arrangement and organization of social categories that develop into a social group together with status and their equivalent roles. As one of the results of this discrimination is the formation of several levels within society. This number of levels within society are can be identified by the social classes or a group of people who share a similar position or status. This is a group of people who share generally the same rank, position, and control and who have a sense of classification with one another. It refers to a position of families that share the same or nearly status according to the criteria of evaluation in the system of stratification. In the Philippines, three social classes can be seen in the community:

(1) the upper class has high personal income, inherited wealth and economic influence;

(2) the middle class are the small businessmen, teachers, merchants, traders with modest income; and

(3) the lower class has to earn low incomes with little or no savings; some are unemployed.

As we can notice the criteria that determine a person’s social position are the color of skin, beauty, money, and how to influence they are in the community. Light coloring is correlated with intelligence and a light-skinned gorgeous person will be given advancement before his or her generation. Family position and association with the patron are useful to achieve success. Hundreds of wedding sponsors and baptisms each year are government officials, wealthy friends, and community leaders that they took advantage of as their backer in their employment and for some other reasons. Owning a vehicle is a clear statement of a high social level together with owning houses and furnishings. In our economic situation today, sending one’s children to the best schools is on the best indicators of social position and the best schools are private schools that are quite expensive. Social Stratification affects life chances. These are the chances to improve the lives of the lower class because the upper class has more advantages to the resources that society has. It also affects the style of living of the people in the society. In fashion, the new trends and clothes of popular personality are in and what they are doing was imitated by the lower kind of person. Prestige in society is also affected by this social stratification. The reputation of one person is given according to its status in society. The higher the position in the society, the higher the reputation he or she can get from the lower-class below them.

We can also notice the social mobility in social stratification in society. Social mobility is the movement of one individual or a group from one social class into another or the process of changing one’s social class or status. This movement of one individual or group may either the increasing or descending movement from class rank to another rank or change of a position that does not involve any actual changes of class rank in which it was unnoticeable. Some of the factors that affect social mobility are the level of economic expansion of one’s tally, industrialization, and urbanization. The availability of opportunities was taken advantage of by the lower class to have a better life. The competition, like for example the election in which they said that it was the time wherein the poorest and the richest are equal, are also entered by the lower class in the society to get the chance to take over to the community and become one of those who are in the higher class. And lastly is the Education in which almost a lot of Filipinos think that this is the key to improve their lives which is right. Education is one of the most important factors that affect the social mobility of a person in a society. If a person properly used his or her time to have a good or excellent education, he or she may get better job opportunities that will rapidly increase his or her way of living or his or her social class. Through social mobility, we may also adopt new lifestyles, we can have new friends, and we may also leave from the former place of residents. But on the other hand, we may also get negative effects due to social mobility such as loosening family tights and old friends, pressure, lack of self-confidence, social separation, anxiety, varied emotional changes, and social and civilizing maladjustments.

On the other hand, social stratification has important to society. Through this social stratification, men all over the society scatter discrimination and unfairness so that men will exert great effort in competing with others to move forward to the higher standard of living. They will exert effort to be known or to be popular with the public and to have a better life to get over to others. Knowing the stratification may help man to adapt to the social surroundings and they may also have the development of man’s average of living. It also results in economic growth in a society and it leads to the achievement of a pleasant and secure society.

Here in the Philippines, social stratification is very noticeable. Wherever you are and wherever you go, social stratification is present. Sometimes, you cannot notice it but when you look at a certain thing or situation deeply, you can see that. The influence of government officials is more noticeable in public today. Sometimes, in a simple traffic violation, they usually involved the name of their known politician to escape the punishment that they should face. In terms of wealth, they usually use the money to do them a favor and to prioritize them. In education, most of the time people don’t look at the knowledge that the person has, they usually look at the school or university where the person came from. And in physical appearance, people having luminous skin, tall, and attractive are given more chances and advancement. These are some basics that what was said in the law that all citizens are equal was not true because, in a fundamental sense, people are not equal. And these are the reasons why we people deserve and looking for more improvement in life. We Filipinos are very conscious of the social class where we belong. We don’t want to be inferior to others that’s why we are looking on the other way to popular or known, to gain reputation and to be prioritized by others. We are always looking for advancement that we can get only when we are in the higher class in society. Even though most of the Filipino population today is in the middle class and only a few are in the highest class, we can feel the influence of those few who are in the highest class in our everyday living. This is how great the social stratification is and in which even in the house of God or in the churches their influence is very noticeable. But even though this social stratification is present in our everyday living, don’t forget that in the eye of God we are all equal and we are given equal prioritized by Him. But don’t be stocked on what you are today. Exert an effort to have an improvement in life.