Politics and corruption are the things that hinder this country. Considering that it has one-third of the population of the US, it has the capability to be much more than it is. From The World Factbook:

"The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by its high level of annual remittances from overseas workers, and no sustained runup in asset prices or foreign borrowing prior to the crisis."

"The implementation of the expanded Value Added Tax (VAT) in November 2005 boosted confidence in the government's fiscal capacity and helped to strengthen the peso, making it East Asia's best performing currency in 2005-06."

The Philippines is truly a sleeping giant.