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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| The Face of Poverty
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on Nov. 12, 2007 For the Standard Today, November 13 issue Like many concerned Filipinos, I was emotionally overwhelmed and driven to tears by the suicide of Mariannet Amper. I could not fathom how and why a 12-year old girl, whose life as a conscious and thinking human being was just beginning, could think of suddenly ending it, by hanging herself. There must be hundreds, even thousands, of 12-year old boys and girls all over the country who are similarly trapped in hopeless situations of poverty and hunger but who have not killed themselves. That Mariannet did so suggests that she was particularly vulnerable to self-destruction, either because of her unique family situation, or because of an unusual sensitivity in her personality or psychological make-up, or both. In other words, if she had sought or received the help that all children in her predicament deserved, she might have grown up into a talented and creative person. All the more reason to mourn her loss. That she kept a diary shows that she was carrying on an internal dialogue with herself, perhaps because there was no one else in her family or in her school that she could communicate with. But even in the internal dialogue in her diary, the excerpts that have been published do not show any bitterness at anyone, and do not hint at any feeling of despair and hopelessness. It is as if she accepted her condition in life as being normal and immutable, and just as matter-of-factly decided to end it. In her diary entry dated Oct. 5, Marianet wrote: Parang isang buwan na kaming absent. Hindi na kasi naming binibilang ang absent ko. Hindi ko namalayan na malapit napala ang Pasko. (�It seemed like we were already absent for one month. We don�t count my absences any more. I could not even feel that Christmas was near.� In her entry of Oct. 14, Mariannet wrote: Hindi kami nakapagsimba dahil wala kaming pamasahe at nilagnat pa ang aking tatay, kaya naglaba na lang kami ng aking nanay. (�We could not go to church because we had no transportation money and my father had a fever, so my mother and I just washed clothes.) There was also an undated letter meant for a TV program Wish Ko Lang � which encourages viewers to make a wish and promises rewards for those whose wishes are aired. She wrote: Gusto ko na makatapos aks so pag-aaral at gustong gusto ko na makabili ng bagong bike. (I want to finish my schooling and I really want to buy a new bicycle.�) She also expressed her wish to buy a new pair of shoes and a bag and for jobs for her mother and father. �because my father is often jobless and my mother does extra work doing laundry.� The letter to the TV show was never sent. On the evening of Nov. 1, Mariannet, a Grade 6 pupil at the Ma-a Central Elementary School asked her father for P100 for a school project that was due on Nov. 5. But her father, Isbaelo, 49, an occasional construction worker, did not have the P100. The next day, he says, he was able to borrow P1,000 as advance wages from a promised construction work at a chapel under construction. But when he got home that afternoon with the money, Mariannet had already hanged herself. It is a commonplace to blame Mariannet�s suicide on the local barangay officials for failing to notice the sad drama unfolding in Mariannet�s household, on the national government for failing to provide jobs for tens of millions of Filipinos, on the Catholic Church for stubbornly rejecting artificial methods of birth control. (Mariannet was one of seven children.) But I will not play the blame game here. What Mariannet�s suicide has done has been to put a human face to the statistics of poverty and hunger. According to a Social Weather Stations survey in March 2007, an estimated 3.4 million households experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, and that overall hunger remained at the record high 19 percent reached last November 2006. Moderate hunger � defined as involuntary hunger experienced only �once� or �a few times� in the previous three months � went up to 15.7 percent in Metro Manila, to 18 percent in Mindanao , and declined to 12.7 percent in the Visayas. Severe hunger � defined as involuntary hunger �often� or �always� � afflicted 3.9 percent of households nationwide, 5.0 percent in Metro Manila, 4.0 percent in Luzon, 2.7 percent in Mindanao , and 4.7 percent in the Visayas. (Inquirer, March 20, 2007) According to the World Bank, 14.8 million Filipinos live on less than US$1.a day, 43 million Filipinos live on less than US$2 a day. And that includes Mariannet�s family in Ma-a, Davao City . (Inquirer, April 17, 2007) According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, the correct figure is 11 million Filipinos living on US$1 a day.. (Inquirer, Nov. 08, 2007) Whichever is the more accurate statistic, it is an indictment of the Filipinos� national leaders in the past 30 years for having spectacularly failed their own people in the most fundamental measures of governance: giving them a secure present and a better future. President Arroyo has supposedly released P1 billion to make a dent on hunger �within the next six months.� (Inquirer, March 25, 2007). Who does she think she is fooling? The billions of pesos in kickbacks and over-pricing that accompanied the broadband and the North Rail projects alone, plus the hundreds of millions of pesos distributed to lucky politicians who were invited to that breakfast meeting in Malacanang last Oct 11, would certainly have gone a long way towards alleviating the hunger and poverty of millions of Filipinos. But the money did not go to them. They went instead to her favorite Filipinos: the already over-fed and over-paid trapos and bureaucrats whose mercenary support she courts and needs in order to stay in power forever. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot,com. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �The Face of Poverty� More Reactions to �A Moral Alternative� BRAVO, ANTONIO! Maski ano pa ang sigaw ! Sulat !?!?!?!! ~~~ Mo, na pocket, na gasta, na deposit na nila (as Switzzzzz<landia!!! Kailangan another Balinkataw" (I mean Balintawak?!) Antonio C. Oposa, MD, (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Thank you for citing the SWS data. I advise you however to always check with our website release (www.sws.org.ph) and not to rely on how it was cited in the papers; once in a while we are terribly misquoted. Aside from SWS, the primary source you should look at is the tri-ennial Family Income and Expenditures Survey of the National Statistics Office. May I quote from my Oct.20 column in the Inquirer: "NSO Release Number 2007-81, of October 9, 2007, is entitled �Change in Spending Pattern Among Filipino Families Seen in 2006.� It specifically points out that the share of home expenditures devoted to food by the bottom 30 percent of families rose from 48 percent in 2003 to 59 percent in 2006. See www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2007/ie06tx.html. When incomes rise, the food share falls; this empirical principle is known as Engels� Law. The law works both ways: an increase in the food share is a clear sign that incomes fell." Neither the World Bank nor IFPRI is involved in generating primary economic data about the Philippines ; such institutions are not overly authoritative since they only interpret what they see (or are willing to look at, which is not everything) from the primary Filipino statistical sources themselves. Regards, Mahar Mangahas, (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 PS The latest SWS hunger rate, as of September 2007: an even higher record of 21.5 percent (SWS media release of October 1, 2007). Our hunger tracking will continue quarterly. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Maybe the Philippines needs to have it's own version of a Robin Hood. I know there were a lot of attributes used to describe the legendary Robin Hood but I think 'fighting against corrupt officials and the oppressive order that protects them' is moral enough for me to be put into practice in a country like the Philippines . In modern versions of the legend, Robin Hood is famous for robbing the rich to provide for the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. Rev. Bert Dellosa, (by email), Melbourne , Australia , Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I wonder if this simple - but perhaps difficult in implementation- step towards "adopting" a poor family might work. Let us try to apply the BUDDY SYSTEM popularized in the Boys Scouts. In this organization, a senior scout looks after the welfare and growth of a young newly-joined scout. Now, following this principle, let us look at the well-off Filipino family in an area. By means of a raffle draw, poor families in a specific neighborhood will have their names in the drawing. the richer neighborhood families will then draw the rolled papers to see which poor family they will be "buddy" of. From then on, they will be responsible for this particular family's welfare for a specific period of time. Not only that but the family will also be helped by social workers to make sure the members secure a job. Perhaps, an experimental approach must be attempted in which a selected community will be the featured community, what some groups call a CONTROL GROUP. I realize how amateurish an approach this suggestion of mine is, but it is a start. It harks back to the Christian principle of we are our BROTHER'S KEEPER. Tony Joaquin, (by email), Daly City , CA , Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwDear Tony, I was moved by your article about Mariannet Amper who at her younger age committed suicide caused by poverty. I am very angry for thousands of Filipinos who are wealthy and never helped out the impoverished people of the Philippines . I am angry at president Arroyo for her negligence of the needs of her own people. I am not wealthy by Canadian standard but I saw the need of a poor mother who was trying to make both ends meet by working up to 12:00 midnight to get some food for the table for her family. I am not blowing my horn for what I have done for this family but I want other people to follow my example. I met this family a year ago. This woman is raising up her three children with Php 5000 a month. Her husband passed away many years ago. When she gets sick, she never gets paid by her employer. Her son is studying to finish Information Technology at a local school in Cabanatuan City on scholarship by some good politician. Her two girls one age 14 is finishing high school and the 18 year old was not going to school as her mother could not afford to send her to college. She was sick for three days one time and her employer did not pay her and told me they had nothing to eat for the day. I gave her some money to provide food for one week. I told her to quit her job as she was having some chest pains at night which was caused by her worries as told by her doctor. I gave her some capital to start a business but it did not work out. I am now supporting her livelihood and also sent her daughter to school to study Hotel Management. I have encouraged her to look for some business opportunity so she would not depend on me. Just today, she told me that she was going to open up an Internet or computer games in a place near the school, with my financial backing. Right now, she feels very good and expressing her overwhelming gratitude that they never miss a meal for the day anymore since. Four years ago, I planted 10,000 mahogany trees in our farm in Nueva Ecija. The reason I planted these trees is two folds; to contribute to the ecology of the Philippines and to provide scholarships for the impoverished children of Nueva Ecija. I believe that education is the key to success but education is not the key to an honest government. I employed a family to look after the plantation. His wage is far above the average wage in the Philippines for caretakers. He told me in my conversation with him last May that he was so lucky to work for me as he never gets hungry anymore. I am challenging people especially from abroad who are rich by Philippines standard to help out our own people in poverty. Roman de Guzman, (by email), Edmonton , Canada , Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, This reader finds your analysis on the circumstances of Marianett Amper's suicide an exceedingly brilliant one. Like you I unashamedly cried to let my tears release the agony of a pained heart as I empathized with the young girl who obviously braved to dream dreams for a better life even as she had apparently lost any hope of their fulfillment as shown by her taking of the only life she had. Certainly there are hundreds of thousands of young girls and boys spread over 7,100 islands of this benighted land who suffer the same hardships in their daily life. The incidence of hunger, regardless of which research to base the statistics on is very real as the promises of its alleviation continue to be repeated by the governors of our lives continue to be said but remain undone. During the last ten years we have seen a president who have promised to help make life for the masses better by his pro-poor policies only to end up enriching himself and his harem of concubines while the condition of poverty rose. He plundered the nation's wealth and fleeced more by using the power of his office and accumulated billions of pesos within three years which was the reason for the abbreviation of his six-year term. He was succeeded by the present ruler whose legality in office remained questionable. Her regime has been marred by scandals committed one after another and we may never know how many billions of pesos or millions of dollars have flowed into the conjugal account from Day One of her rule to the present. Her rule has been characterized by generously giving hundreds of thousands or millions of pesos to bribe or buy the loyalty of those insatiably hungry politicians she pays to thwart moves to remove her from office or those mercenary generals and other officers of the military and the police who are being used to shield her from citizens angered by her blatant abuse of office and brazen bribery. If words could only kill, she and her coterie of sycophants and supporters would long have been dead and the Marianett Ampers of this country would not be dying of hunger or despair. Carry on, Mr. Abaya. Our sentence on them may one day be carried out. Ramon Mayuga, (by email), Essen , Germany , Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, The Philippines government has lost its last straw of redemption. The desperation is felt everywhere in the four corners of the islands, except in the homes of the empowered business class and palace favored politicians in the good graces of the Administration. The desperation and environment of helplessness and lost of all hope has never before dawned on us since we gained independence. This administration is desensitized of every minute speck of humanity, short of challenging the high heavens to replace the rulers who have pushed us into the abyss of the damned. Must there be more suicides among the young before our people wake up to the slumber of poverty, hunger and tolerance before all of us act? Now, I agree with observers from overseas who says that we have a flawed culture, a tendency to be subservient and to endure till we all just drop dead. Vic del Fierro, Jr., (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Dear Mr. Abaya, Your article brought about mixed feelings, but mainly a helpless anger at the apparent stupidity of all. Why make babies you can neither feed nor adequately nurture? Marianette Amper did not ask to be born as did all babies who came into this world. Who are responsible for them? Mostly the parents who made them. For some reason I've never been able to fathom, Filipinos make babies with little or no thought about the enormous responsibility of parenthood. Excerpts from Marianette's diary touched me deeply because I saw a thinking and feeling person who had the courage to make a decision of "to be or not to be". Marianette clearly saw it is pointless to continue such an existence in the world to which she was born. What a pity her parents never saw and never will see the absurdity of making babies when they neither have the means nor the right to do so. Is the government to blame? Yes, certainly. But since government is made by the society, then the core of the problem lies with the society which, in turn, is made up of groups, couples, and individuals that include Marianette's parents. In short, the suicide of Marianette is a strong statement against the whole Filipino society. Rosalinda Olsen, (by email), Norway , Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony. Seldom do I feel such touch of concern (coming from you) from other "daily columnists." You have set Mariannet's case as a soulful eye-opener for those who hold in their hands the safety net which can prevent such overcoming desperation among our impoverished fellow beings. Rose Bulahan, (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, In spite of all the news we hear about poverty in the country, all the politicians do is bicker among themselves, file motions for impeachment and just basically making moves to either stay in power or take over the reins. It's sad to hear news about this girl but it's the reality and the politicians simply do nothing. I wonder where the pork barrel goes. Cheers. Chito, [email protected], Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Dear Tony, I share with you a Letter to the Editor which I sent to Inquirer. I am not sure whether it will be published, but that is how I feel about the treatment they got from the Church. Arnold van Vugt, (by email), Cagayan de Oro City, Nov.13, 2007 Church in dilemma ? I am appalled at reading the front page story (PDI Nov. 10) about Mariannet Amper, the 12-year old girl in Davao who committed suicide because of her family�s depressing conditions of poverty. The Church is in a dilemma, it says, whether the girl should be allowed or denied a church funeral, because of an obsolete and antiquated church law. How in heaven can a Catholic priest who is supposed to be the Alter Christ even doubt for one minute whether he can say a funeral mass for the poor girl, and can even be so cruel as to deny her parents and brothers and sisters to have a Catholic burial for her? Does he really need to consult the Archbishop � the High Priest as of old ! � and get his permission? Before he may get a negative answer, he better consult the real High Priest of the Church, who is Jesus, the poor Man of Nazareth, and ask Him what He would have done in such a case. I am sure it would change his doubt into sorrow immediately. Now that I am writing this letter I realize that the girl may have been buried already, either inside or outside the church. Then I hope that my letter would still be published, if only to correct a false image of the Church that the story may have suggested. Arnold van Vugt, P.O. Box 237 , Cagayan de Oro City wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Good day, Tony - I love reading your articles and I forward them always to my mates here. I do not want to believe that my beloved country is in a hopeless situation in so far as alleviating poverty is concerned. There are unlimited ways to do this. But the problem is quite unequivocal. The leaders of our country have been doing the opposite. Making more people poorer and few chosen ones richer!! When I say "leaders" it means from Marcos� time to present. If we look back to the poverty situation since, say, 1970 to present (37 years), it went from bad to worse to worst!! When I was still in Tarlac, we were struggling big time, although me and my wife had good jobs. My kids� education was my motivating factors to migrate to New Zealand 10 years ago where food is abundant and corruption is almost non-existent and crime is not a huge issue. Plus the fact that I could almost feel that Joseph Estrada would soon be a President. Further I realized that I did not have enough resources to send my two kids in proper school if we just relied on our salaries and I figured out the education was becoming luxury instead of necessity. To cut the story short, poverty would have been a lot less if we can save at least 10% of the corruption in the government and we can provide more to the poor people like Mariannet. Just a big question, have the Lapids been questioned about the quarrying in Pampanga? How come only a small very handful of corrupt people are in jail? More power to you, Tony.. Keep writing realistic opinion!!! God Bless our country!!! Regards, Pedro Cura, (by email), Auckland , New Zealand , Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony: While it is true and I agree with you that the suicide put a human face on Philippine poverty--and te disparity between the rich and poor--it must also be admitted that suicides (persons) have either lowest or no sense of self-worth. And that is regardless of how the suicide acquired that mental setup. This is exactly the area where Philippine media can help mold society's thinking early in this anti-poverty game and help the poor think positively instead. By concentrating on the corruption stories, violence and entertainment, at the expense of real in-depth and analytical (and problem-solving stories), Philippine media has contributed to the child's suicide instead. This even if the suicide did not read the newspapers at all. Warped culture did the rest. Albest, Gil Santos, (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Now Mr. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, where is your "renaissance" and "tremendous growth" in the Philippine economy? Where are the "millions of our countrymen and women who are benefiting from this tremendous growth"? Explain that to the family of this poor girl. Elmer. Sr. Fabros, (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Life is hard especially for the invisible poor people in the rural areas. Marianet Amper is just one of the nameless children who are suffering hunger everyday. Unfortunately, there are some children who, out of desperation, saw little hope in life, thought that the best escape is death. Honestly, I cry for them for I, too, is a father who wish nothing but the best for my children. We can blame the government, the public officials, but we too are to be blamed for the desperation felt by our brothers and sisters. Have we been Christian enough to our unfortunate "kababayans"? Do we see the face of Jesus Christ in them? Although, it is right to cry for Marianet but we too should cry for ourselves as we have turned callous and indifferent towards the sufferings of our brothers and sisters. All of us are to be blamed for Marianet's death. Very truly yours, Jonnel Duka Espaldon, (by email), Nov. 13, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mariannet Amper's suicide is a call to conscience for all of us.. Hers is the voice of all human suffering today. From this view, we can realize how petty, how parochial all of the whining, complaining , condemning, etc we find time to indulge in. We realize that we have no time to lose. Each of us, can alleviate a little suffering in the corner where we are. To be more sensitive to the other person, more appreciative. And we can do it NOW. And you, Tony, through your circle of influence, can do so much good! May we use your corner to send our inspirations, experiences, sharings of what others have done and are doing. For a start, I suggest Alex Lacson's book "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can do to Help Our Country." He can also be invited as speaker. Best regards, Pichi Escoda, (by email), Nov. 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) It's admirable to hear of Roman's personal effort to do his part in trying to help in the fight to reduce hunger in the Philippines . This would be a more effective way of addressing the problem. The statistics as portrayed in Abaya's article are depressing. Blaming the government officials as the sole culprit however misses the point. It is easy to say that spending a billion pesos would alleviate the problem. If throwing money around to cure the problem works, then the USA would be free of hunger. In reality the US have spent trillions of dollars for decades trying to alleviate the same problem in the form of welfare, subsidies, food stamps, free healthcare and the like. If we are to believe the politicians, mostly the opposition party to the incumbent, the gap between the rich and poor in the US is widening and more people go hungry. Yes, the richest country on earth have its own share of hunger, the Filipinos are not alone. While the Philippines is blessed with fertile lands, countries in East Africa are beset by yearly droughts and wars and constantly on the UN relief rolls. The country have to do a better job of creating and providing meaningful jobs. The practice of spending money to feed the hungry does not address the cause of why they are hungry which is, they don't earn enough money or that they have too many mouths to feed for the meager amount of money that they earn. Momentary relief of hunger postpones the inevitable and creates a dependency which the country is not equipped to handle. Too often, "God will provide" doesn't cut it anymore. That may have been plausible when I first left the Philippines in 1964 when the population was 32,000,000. While we mourn the loss of the poor girl in the article, we have to ask the question which many of the households in the Philippines should be asking. Why seven children if you could hardly afford to feed yourself? Oyo Cruz, (by email), Nov. 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The news about her death moved me to tears. When will the injustice end? When will our country be transformed? Cesar Sarino, (by email), Nov. 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, I will play the blame game. If the Philippines had a national population planning program because the unconscionable Catholic Church had not been in the way all these years, the Amper family would probably only have two kids and not the seven they had. And of course this tragedy would not have happened, and tens of millions more Filipino families would live in dignity and not in this kind of hopeless existence they now do. If the Filipino men were less macho, they'd not be scratching their scrotums at home while their wives alone wash other people's clothes for a living, and, like Korean and Chinese men, they would help build a family laundry business. If our more fortunate, smarter and braver Filipinas were more helpful, they'd organize and teach our meek Pinay sisters how to kick their lazy husbands in their scrotums to their senses to help them with the wash and more than double their income. If the Filipino masses and our cowardly politicians were not like sheep to their priests and the Filipino Catholic hierarchy, and these intelligent priests were not mere mindless errand boys to the Vatican , this tragedy would not have happened. Louie Fernandez, (by email), Nov. 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww "Whichever is the more accurate statistic, it is an indictment of the Filipinos� national leaders in the past 30 years for having spectacularly failed their own people in the most fundamental measures of governance: giving them a secure present and a better future. " - Really!?!? And who allowed and tolerated those "Filipino's national leaders in the past 30 years" to handle the helm? Oh well- I suppose that Joma could have been worst! (Really? You mean you never voted, even once, in the past 30 years? ACA) Alexander Po, (by email), Nov. 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Re this article, do you have any information on a reliable trustworthy organization we can give to, which helps people like those mentioned in it, especially to break the cycle of poverty? Preferably, an organization where a high percentage of contributions goes towards helping, rather than just "administration, and other office costs". Thanks, Bambi Virata, (by email), Nov. 14, 2007 (Try contacting Dennis Murphy, who works with the urban poor. His email address is [email protected]. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Your latest column - The Face of Poverty - explains very clearly that the priorities of government are NOT the priorities of the people. Increasingly, Philippine society is more governed than self-governed. No wonder, people here and abroad are saying that Philippine democracy is not only failing. It is flailing! Best, Ben Sanchez, (by email), Nov.14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Finally, the people are beginning to wake up. Keep up with your crusade. We need you Good show! Rodolfo "Fong" Balao, (by email), Nov. 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks to you re: the tragic suicide of 12-year old Mariannet Amper, Which by now must certainly have flooded the Internet! I'm featuring Marianett Amper in this week's editorial cartoon in Filipino Reporter, New York ,New York, hanging high and none too soon, And quoted your opening graf, Tony C. Abaya, so be forewarned...This, on the eve of Thanksgiving causes grieving, (i'll be darned!) The lower half of the cartoon shows another twelve-year old girl by name of Gloria Macapagal, in Malacanang days of old, As her President dad met with my fellow Examiner on staff, Gloria pranced outside in the hallways, a uniformed colegiala, with not a care in the world at all, after all: siyang bahala! Now the head of state, she squanders billions of tax money to keep her in power, Oh what a wastrel the peoples money! Ergo: "A tale of Two 12 Year Olds" is my take on your take, ACA, Salamuch for your perceptive pulse that takes the cake! danonymous aka el Dani, Danilo Aguila, (by email), Nashville , Tennessee , Nov. 15, 2007 Editorial cartoonist, weekly FILIPINO REPORTER, New York City wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you for writing about Marianet. This story just made me more focused on what we are passionate about - Gawad Kalinga. Through this movement we hope to reduce and eventually erase poverty from the face of the earth. God Bless, Marietta Pascua, (by email), Nov. 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hello! Thank you so much for sending me the article, " The Face of Poverty" . It is indeed so sad that hunger and political corruptions in the Philippines are so embedded in the society and so many are so accepting of these facts. When is enough enough? Can Philippines be saved? Is their any salvation for the millions of Pilipinos who wallow in hunger? Is there anyone among the fat politicians who still have a soul?...a conscience? The corrupt politicians even summoned quotations from the bible and calls for the bishops and cardinals to be by their sides whenever they want to spin the degree of their corruption and like idiots the public lop it out.....Sometimes I am ashamed to admit I am a Pinay!!! like so many of the others that left the country. Aloha, [email protected], Hawaii , Nov. 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: In my whole life, this is the only time I've heard of suicide by a kid just because of poverty. I strongly believe, no kid will ever dare to kill herself because of hardships in life. That's why I support the theory that there was a foul play on the death of this girl. But looking at other events related to her death, I�ve seen again another failure on our policemen and investigators. Why would policemen and investigators start to examine only her body after her burial? Here in USA , it's standard that any death like this, is always presumed that this is not a natural death and should always be examined/investigated first by policemen or any agency involved in crimes, before the dead body is placed on a casket. Here in USA , she'll be burried only after extensive investigations, based on assumptions that there might be foul play on her suicide death, which is the reverse of what's happening now in the Philippines . Jess Guim, (by email), New York City , Nov. 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: Let me add to my previous answer to this article, that there must be another article related to the death of this girl with a title, "The Face of Stupidity." Policemen already knew that the girl's death was not normal at her age to be caused by suicide, they've not made an investigation or autopsy first on her body before she was burried. They only made this procedure after some people said that she may have died from "foul play." There's another girl, who's found raped, killed, and placed in a big travelling bag (maleta). They exumed later her body from the cemetery, after one parent claim that the girl may not be their lost child. Now, they can't get DNA on the dead body, because it's decomposing and had been on formaline for long time already. The DNA study, on this case, should have been made first before they placed her to formaline solution. Faces of Stupidity, let me list some from the current news and events: Snap election - it's stupidity to support this, because we will just be electing the politicians who could not wait for the regular election. If we need real leaders, they must come from the people's choice even without election, not those old politicians presented to us by party groups. Erap's pardon - it's stupidity on GMA to free him, only to learn later that Erap is not really running away from politics. It's stupidity for Filipinos to vote for him again, who uses poverty and sufferings of the Filipino to place him in the seats of power and steal the money that should be for the impoverished. Jess Guim, (by email), New York City , Nov. 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) Hi Louie, Actually I posted an article on that story from the Independent of the UK some two weeks ago but am not sure if it went out. I fully agree with you that a key problem behind the poverty in the Philippines is the population explosion! More than thirty years ago the Commission on Population that was established during the Marcos period actually had a very good track record in reducing population growth. This is certainly documented in records from the early 70's till the mid 80's. Unfortunately the Aquino regime capitulated to the demands of the Roman Catholic Church and curbed the activities of Popcom, as that commission was called. The result has been a catastrophe: rampant poverty and massive exodus of OFW's. The Latin American people, though primarily RC, have chosen to ignore the strictures on contraception. It's time Pinoys acted more wisely from a policy and pragmatic point of view. Best regards, Jes Villa, (by email), Nov. 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, There's no pattern or correlation between poverty and suicide, or at least half the world's population would vanish. I specifically refer to the "suicide" of 12 year old Marianeth. The note giving poverty as the reason for her suicide was obviously written by the man who raped and murdered her. R. Stager, (by email), Quezon City , Nov. 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww This is a delayed response, Tony. The suicide of 12-year-old Marianette was really heart-breaking. It sends a very negative message to our poor youth. I'm not wealthy, and neither am I poor, but I can feel the frustration of a mother who sees her child hungry and cannot offer him a morsel. Food and education are basic necessities, and the government should focus on these. I can't believe that the budget for poverty alleviation in our country is re-channeled to fatten GMA's favored officials to guarantee her stay in power. The death of this young girl occurred in Davao where supposedly life is not as hard as life in urban Metro Manila. Think of those children who eat only one square meal a day and can't go to school because public schools charge them P500 to enroll. This amount is a lot of money to the poor because they can even barely survive. Food and education should be the government's main concerns. The disparity between the rich and the poor in our country is so wide. The filthy rich don't need all their money in their lifetime. If I win the lotto, I'll tithe my winnings to help the poor. It may not make a significant dent, but at least I can help a little. Is it Buffet in the IT world (the second richest next to Bill Gates) who doesn't wallow in luxury, maintains his old home and old car, and helps the poor? Admirable. Best, Yett Montalvan, (by email), Nov. 20, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) Hi Ben, Thank you for sharing this article with the rest of the ND Alumni. I am an Alumnus (Class of '01) and was there in Manila in 2001-2003 conducting my Fulbright research on housing for the urban poor in Manila . I am sure we met at one of our Alumni gatherings there. Well, housing and poverty in Manila has been an issue that I have always had a sincere passion in addressing. Although born and raised in the States, my first visit to the Philippines in '95 as a teenager was enough to leave a life-changing impression in my mind as I witnessed the extremities of poverty for the first time. It was seeing the faces of the innocent street children that inspired me to pursue my architecture degree at Notre Dame with the hope that I could one day help ameliorate the poverty situation by providing even one of the most basic needs of humankind to those who were less fortunate: shelter. I never imagined that I'd be blessed with the opportunity to return to the Philippines after receiving my degree to conduct research on housing and poverty and explore the very issues that brought me to ND in the first place. For me, the face of poverty had always been the faces of these young innocent children who are victims of the vicious cycle of poverty. It is disheartening to know that their future is so negatively constrained by the socio-economic ills that persist in their society and even more disturbing to acknowledge that the very people that govern them do not have their welfare in mind. Well, I am working on my masters in Urban Planning right now at NYU and am doing an international specialization. I hope to return to the Philippines afterwards to continue working with these pressing issues of poverty and their implications on children. My vision is to one day be able to provide some form of shelter for the street children that wander the streets of Manila, particularly those whom I worked closely with at Unang Hakbang Foundation in Mandaluyong. Perhaps it could even become a collaborative effort among our ND alumni community someday. Who knows. Anyway, when I do return to Manila , I look forward to meeting with you again. And to Antonio, I was touched by your article. It's nice to know that someone else acknowledges the face of poverty as being correlated to the innocent children whose lives are affected daily and whose futures can be detrimentally determined by the poverty they face. Thank you for sharing the article! Warmest Regards, Rona Reodica, (by email), New York University Nov. 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �A Moral Alternative� (Nov. 08, 2007) Dear ACA, Reading through the various email reactions to the issues you have raised, I have observed that there are enough pool of intelligent and morally upright men in our midst who have the rational solutions to the political, social and immoral mess that our present GMA government that has shamelessly put our country into . While I do pray that this political pestilence will be destroyed in due time, let us not look around for the proverbial prophetic hero to liberate us from this quagmire. Indeed, we have the intellect, the resources and the time to proceed what you and everyone is hoping to achieve, poetic justice against a self-destructing machinery of lies and more lies. Time is running short, so is the patience of the people. I am sure we have enough good and upright leaders and I am inclined to believe that our choice for a real moral alternative is in the mold of Sen. Richard Gordon, Sen. Mar Roxas who are both intelligent, experienced and tested with a clean record of governance and legislative achievement. I hope these senators join forces together perhaps with the forces of Gen. De Villa , Sen /Gen. Biazon, Gen. Lim and Rafael Alunan, I have the highest respect for former Sec. Rafael Alunan for his bravery in handing over the death sentence terminating the American bases in our country. To them I salute for their patriotism. Jojie Umali, (by email), Riyadh , Saudi Arabia , Nov. 18, 2007 Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww "A nation of 88 million people and we can�t seem to find even one authentic Filipino leader?" Cesar Sarino, (by email), Nov. 09, 2007 Somehow I don't get it. How in Methuselah's name can dropping one pure-as-the-driven-snow lamb into a river full of feeding-frenzied crocodiles make any difference? Bobby Mannasan, (by email), Burke , Virginia , Nov. 18, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, First, our people really are on to moral alternatives when they should always think MORAL IMPERATIVES. Thus, they get to stress FORM over SUBSTANCE. Having said that, let's think of the "type of person and persons surrounding this person" that we want in the Palace that would enable the cleansing of the Palace and the River and Metro surrounding it. I would suggest that we think of Father Panlilio and the Bishops (Catholics/other Christian leaders) that are not courageous to come out with positions as individuals, not as a Council (The citizen is the person not the organization, council, Church. We do not expect the citizens to hide under the garb/cloak nor do we expect the organizations to be misconstrued as the government of the people. So, we better stop blaming the Church when some leaders express opinions/judgments leading to misrepresentations of the Church.) Some people blame Gov. Fr. Panlilio for his statements of NO BRIBE-- Remember when you are called to testify-- you say what you saw and what you heard--NOT what YOU think, believe, or guess, or conclude. That's for the judge/s or jury to do. Then, let's look at the young people that could provide them support like GK and real competent professionals for various departments-- Retired people, if they are the moral ones that we envision should be P1 a wk consultant to the government that we are building POST-GMA. This would be diametrically opposed to the cases of the Dishonorable Davide and Least Gentlemanly Generals who have an ax to grind at every turn. We have seen how this administration has made MORALITY irrelevant and it's now the time for us to show that TRUTH, WISDOM, and MORALITY are the main ingredients that we accept for our THREE LOVES, of GOD, COUNTRY, and PEOPLE. LUWALHATI at PAPURI sa DIOS! Mabuhay ang PILIPINAS! Mabuhay ang PILIPINO! Biyaya sa inyong lahat! Aurora Riel, (by email), Murfreesboro , North Carolina , Nov. 18, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: There are very striking similarities between Singapore before Lee Kwan Yew and that of the Philippines today. It took a Lee Kwan Yew to move Singapore from rags to riches. In the case of Malaysia , it took a Mohamad Mahathir. In the case of China , it took a Mao Zedong. In the case of France of Louis XVI, it took those desperate Parisians who stormed the Bastille--and Robespierre, Marat, Danton and a few others.. In the case of Russia of the Romanovs, it took a Lenin. If this historical analogy should hold, it will take an X to move the Philippines from rags to riches. As I have asserted in another connection, for all of the 60 or so years since its "independence" in 1946, the Philippines has been drifting aimlessly, as if a ship without a rudder. Without the kind of jolt or convulsive shock that a Lee Kwan Yew gave to Singapore , I am afraid that the Philippines will continue to drift--aimlessly, on and on and on, probably ad infinitum, or till kingdom come. Mariano Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers , NY , Nov. 19, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Anent the reaction of Mr. Cesar Sarino on their search for a Moral Leader in the past three years, it is only to be expected to experience difficulty finding an "Authentic Filipino Leader" amongst 88 Million Filipinos. The present presidential system does not really provide for an environment for a real leader - "The Best & the Brightest" - to emerge. Given the profile of the Filipino electorate, only those who are popular like Joseph "ERAP" Estrada or Fernando Poe, Jr. or with political family names like Macapagal can win national elections in our country. The potential leaders do not stand a chance win as president, vice-president or even senators because they have to be elected nationally. Thus, you have ERAP winning first as senator, then vice-president, and finally president. Similar story with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Another popular figure, Noli de Castro, is on the same track having been a senator and now vice-president - and heaven forbids, as president! So it is only under a Parliamentary form of government where Leaders can be developed because they will be elected locally by their respective districts as Members of Parliament (MPs). So the MP from Pasig City , Metro Manila or from a district in Visayas or Mindanao can be become a Prime Minister of the country because he or she will be chosen his peers in the party or ruling coalition. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds, but a Parliamentary system will encourage more and better-qualified Filipinos to run for public office and become our future leaders. Likewise, since the electorate will no longer choose their president but their MPs choosing the Prime Minister, the voters will become more involved and choose their MPs more wisely. This is how the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair became PM in the United Kingdom , a Paul Keating in Australia , a Trudeau in Canada and a Mahathir in Malaysia . No less than senators and congressmen themselves have said that the present political system produce or breed "bad politicians!" They should know. Thank you and best regards. Rick B. Ramos, (by email), Santa Rosa , Laguna, Nov. 20, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) Hi Johnny and Mar, I would urge you to read Katherine Mayo's Isles of Fear written in the '20s about the Filipino character. It will make you shudder. It is available in the Internet, in Project Guttenberg, found in Google. In the situation Filipinos are in now, pit dwellers (in the pit of poverty, mental bankruptcy, emotional despair and moral filth) -- unimpeded overpopulation since the church forbids birth control, rampant corruption, no remorse by criminals even in the face of incontrovertible proof of their crimes and condemnation by the courts, pardoning for political expediency, we need divine intervention to save the people from present and future merciless politicians. Name or give me any other solution. Lionel Tierra, (by email), Sacramento , CA , Nov. 21, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hello What could be the moral alternative for the political leaders including the simple "mamayan" It seems the Filipinos lost the value of discipline, moral and spiritual. It is a pity to see the same old traits of careless atttitude to many Filipinos after being away for more than 20 years Mrs Consorcia Scholtz de Leon, (by email), Nov. 20, 2007 United International Women for Peace In Action United Cultural Foundation OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |