financial resources forced them to take on measures that reduced the attention given to human needs. This resulted in increased numbers of abjectly poor constituents. Resources that could have been used for strengtheninq social development, enhancing production capaciti~s and protecting the environment, continued to flow out of the economies of these nations in increasingly large amounts, leading to a precipitous decline in the living standards of hundreds of millions of people. Most developing countries adopted structural adjustment programmes and committed themselves to changing their internal structures to further development. However, the external environment undermined these carefully constructed domestic programmes. High interest rates added fuel to the debt crisis. A decline in the prices of many comnndities and increased protectionism negatively affected the competitiveness of most developing nations. Deteriorating foreign exchange rates spelled disaster for many developing country projects. The decline in investment and technological weakness also prevented these countries from enhancing the I\ I • ! : A/S-18/PV.2 140 (Mr. Maceda, Philippines} utilization of their human and physical resources. This adversely affected their full integration into the world economy. The resulting state of imbalance in the world economy, largely due to increasing discrepancies aroong major trading countries and the misalignment and volatility of monetary and fiscal management, also exacerbated the situation. In the Philippines, for instance, after years of stagnation, we achieved growth for the first time in 1986, when President Corazon C. Aquino took over. Since then, our economy has shown promising growth rates indicating signs of revival. However, this cannot be sustained if depletion of our foreign currency earnings and reserves to service our external debt continues. For the last three years, more than 40 per cent of our annual budget was eaten up by debt service. JB/30 A/S-18/PV. 2 141 (Mr. Maceda, Philippines) 
**Analysis**
The text primarily discusses the economic struggles of developing countries, including the Philippines, and how external factors such as high interest rates, declining commodity prices, and protectionism affect their ability to develop their economies and improve living standards. The text also touches on the issue of debt service and the impact it has on the country's budget.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade