The Never Ending Democratization of the Philippines 123 2015”. A total of 189 member-states agreed to commit to its goals. Our country has acceded to these goals and has now incorporated them in our 2004-2010 Medium Term Development Plan. Hence, the performance of our country's economic and social programs can be tracked through the Millennium Development Goals. Box 1. Millennium Development Goals Goal 1: Goal 2: Goal 3: Goal 4: Goal 5: Goal 6: Goal 7: Goal 8: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development As is widely known, the Philippines' economic performance is lagging behind many countries in Southeast Asia. The 2010 Philippines Progress Report for the Millennium Development Goals states that our GNP grew at an average of 5% from 2000-2009 (Appendix C). The report cites the global financial crisis and natural calamities as factors behind the decline of our GNP to 3% in 2009. The government is optimistic that as the global economy recovers and the remittances from OFWs continue to increase, the macroeconomic indicators will improve in 2010 and beyond (Philippines 2010 Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals: 32). In fact our GDP increased to 7.3% in 2010, the highest in the last 24 years. This appears ephemeral in view of the brinksmanship of the Republican majority in the US House of Representatives on the issue of raising the deficit ceiling supposed to lapse on August 2, 2011. This very deep division between the American political parties makes the feared “double dip”, another global recession, closer to reality. At the very least, the current administration's optimism about the short-term economic prospect of the country is doubtful. The government report also says that the country's achievements in regard to the MDG are mixed. According to NEDA Director General Cayetano Paderanga, the country's chances of achieving the goals by 2015 are as follows: