All�s a dearth for the urban poor in the urban milieu.

Here is a fact: the urban poor, who live closer to the poverty line, face less severe problems than the rural ones because the former are more probable to be pulled over the line of accelerated growth. However, here�s a fact again: that does NOT mean the urban poor are lucky. No they are not.

As seen, heard or read in various media reports��television, radio, newspapers��the urban poor have been a major concern of coverage. In the stratum of society, the urban poor are those clustered in various slum areas near population centers. People in these slum areas are mostly long-term residents or newly arrived relatives from provinces who migrate to the city in search of better life. But, as accounted by broadcast or print journalists, the urban poor cannot and do have a better life because of government�s unfailing incapacity to alleviate urban poverty.

Poverty, as defined in the Lexicon encyclopedia, is an economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain certain minimal levels of health services, food, housing, clothing, and education generally recognized as necessary to ensure an adequate standard of living. What is considered adequate, however, depends on the average standard of living in a particular society.

In a country like the Philippines, the standard of living of the urban poor is very depressing��especially in Metro Manila��which is regarded as the Philippine hub of urban poverty for it has, since the 1980s, attracted settlers of migrants on the borders of established urban centers.

The assessment of the level of wealth and prosperity at which the urban poor live is plagued by the lack of the basic necessities incontestably needed to survive the urban living. These, trite as they may have exposed by media for years, are lack of employment, child laboring, lack of affordable housing, high fare cost, poor access to urban health and environmental services, unsafe water supply, poor quality of social services, urban violence, and a laughable urban land reform.

According to the World Bank�s Strategy To Fight Poverty, the Philippines, though a rapidly urbanizing country, has much more urban problems to face than ever, especially those that are poverty-related. For one, lack of employment crawls. Urban poverty is more pronounced among laborers with insecure jobs and small pay: peddlers, hawkers, micro entrepreneurs, and scavengers. There are no social security benefits for the needy which make the poor go through a droning rotation of idleness, misery and hunger. The urban poor are especially traumatized because they can see at close range those who have jobs and bring home money to feed their families while they cannot.

Affordable housing is another deprivation. This reduces the living standards of the urban poor. This is a reflection of problems of legal land tenure and the failure of the land market. Coupled by high transportation costs, the poor are drained of their income. In a setting where transportation costs are increasing, cost of going to school or work can make up a huge part the urban poor�s outflow of money.

Also from the World Bank�s Strategy To Fight Poverty, studies show that poor access to urban services related to environmental health reduces the welfare of urban dwellers. As evidently documented in television, road vehicles, industrial, and household emissions are concentrated at the roadside level, where the poor and especially the poor children�s lives are exposed in hazard.

Urban water supply, another problem identified by the World Bank, is greatly polluted, with widespread incidence of bacteria that affect health adversely. This problem is worse in areas subject to flooding.

Furthermore, poor household sanitation and lack of toilet services infests the urban poor. Studies in the Waste Characterization Study for Quezon City conducted by the QC Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department show that the samples collected at Barangay Escopa I and III, a low-income residential area, meant big amount of composite organic waste. Evidently, houses in these communities which are low-cost housing units, lack the necessary toilet facilities.

The quality of social services is another crucial problem of the urban poor. Access to education has improved, but much of that improvement has come from even the poor attending private schools, with higher household financial contributions.

One other key problem of the urban poor, which the World Bank says as often overlooked in analyses of poverty, is urban violence. Urban violence in the Philippines is often related to alcohol and drugs. Violence on the streets inhibits movement and limits options both for work and for further education. Violence that results in death increases urban residents� susceptibility for further poverty.

Urban land reform is also needs to be improved. The World Bank says that Philippines must pursue this goal so as to make market work better. Property taxes need to be raised, and tenure regularized.

Urbanization, as define in Mankiw�s book on economics, is the removal of the rural character of a town or area, a process associated with the development of society, has unfortunately in the Philippines, caused the urban dwellers to become poorer and more vulnerable to health hazards.

As long as the Government is guilty of its irresponsibility to alleviate urban poverty, these problems will prevail.

Target audience: plant/tree lovers; planting and garden enthusiasts

Ang pagbibigay sa mga halaman o puno ng tamang pangangalaga lalu na sa unang pagkakataon na ito�y itinanim mo ay napakahalaga para sa pagkakaroon nito ng mahabang buhay at maayos na paglago. Kailangan kang magbigay ng sapat na oras at pag-aalaga sa pagtanim ng isang puno.

Pinakamainam na panahon para magtanim

Ang pagpili ng klima ay napakaimportante sa pagpapasya kung kailan ang tamang panahon ng pagtatanim. Ang mga bagong-tanim na puno (newly planted trees) ay lumalago kapag sila ay na-eexpose sa moderate temperature at rainfall dahil nangangailngan ang sila ng oras para magkapag-develop pa ng ugat at maihanda ang sarili sa pagdating ng panahong matinding pagtuyo (intense dryness) na dala ng tag-init o ng panahon ng lamig na dala ng tag-ulan. Kung may tag-sibol at tag-lagas lang sa Pilipinas (paris sa Estados Unidos), ito ang mga panahong pinakamainam na magtanim.

Paano magtanim ng puno

Nakasaad sa Tree-sitting ni Dr. Cheyne Liss: �While planting different types of trees differs in the details, all trees eventually end up in a hole. But not any old hole will do.

�The most common mistake when planting a tree is a digging hole, which is both too deep and too narrow. Too deep and the roots don�t have access to sufficient oxygen to ensure proper growth. Too narrow and the root structure can�t expand sufficiently to nourish and properly anchor the tree.

�As a general rule, trees should be transplanted no deeper than the soil in which they were originally grown. The width of the hole should be at least three times the diameter of the root ball . . . or container or the spread of the roots in the case of bare root trees. This will provide the tree with enough worked earth for its root structure to establish itself.

�When digging in poorly drained clay soil, it is important to avoid �glazing�. Glazing occurs when the sides and bottom of a hole . . . become smoothed forming a barrier, through which water has difficulty passing. To break up the glaze, use a fork to work the bottom and drag the points along the sides of the completed hole.

�Also, raising the bottom of the hole slightly higher than the surrounding area. This allows water to disperse, reducing the possibility of water pooling in the planting zone.�

Ang pagtanim ng mga �container trees�

Ang mga container trees ay yung mga puno na ang mga ugat ay naka-plastic o nakapaloob sa paso na gawa sa metal, fibre o synthetic na materyal. Sila ay maaaring hindi muna itanim kaagad pero panatilihing basa ang lupa sa loob ng container at ilagay ito sa malilim na lugar.

Una, kapag plastik o bakal ang lalagyan ng puno at ito�y aalisin mo na�t itatanim, mas maganda na alisin na nang tuluyan ang plastik. Kapag fibre naman ang lalagyan, maaari na lang na punitin ito sa side.

Pangalawa, kapag naialis na ng marahan ang puno sa lalagyan nito, tignan ang mga ugat. Kapag sila ay masyadong nakakumpul-kumpul, sinabi ni Dr. Domingo Madulid sa kanyang librong Philippine Ornamental Plants and Trees na use your fingers or a blunt instrument (to minimize root tearing) to carefully tease the fine roots away from the tight mass and then spread the roots prior to planting.

Sa mga sitwasyong makahoy ang mga ugat (woody roots), una, gumamit ng spade para buksan ang dulong bahagi ng nagkumpul;-kumpul na ugat. Pangalawa, isalbag ng kaunti ang mga ugat bago ito itanim. Ang pagsasalbag ng ugat ay tinatawag na �root butterflying.�

Ayon kay Madulid, �Loosening the root structure in this way is extremely important in the case of container plants. Failure to do so may . . . result in the roots �girdling� and killing the tree. At the very least, the roots will . . . have difficulty expanding beyond the dimensions of the original container.�

Para mas maging mabuti para sa puno ang pagtatanim, maaari ring buwagin ng konti ang lupang pagtatamnan sa labas ng planting zone. �This allows roots that quickly move out of the planting zone to be more resilient as they anchor into existing surrounding soil conditions,� ayon kay Liss.

Pangatlo, ilagay ang puno sa butas na binungkal. Pang-apat, ibalik na ang lupa na binungkal sa lebel ng lalagyan ng puno. Tandaan lamang na huwag pigain ng sobra ang lupa sa iyong mga paa. �Compress gently using your hands,� ayon kay Liss.

Pang-lima, mas magiging maayos ang paglaki ng puno kung ito lalagyan ng pataba o fertilizer. Ito ay maaring ilagay sa taas ng lupa o di kaya ay ihalo ito sa lupang pagtatambunan nito.

Ang paglalagay ng pataba ay mahalaga ayon kay Madulid dahil nagpo-promote ng root expansion at growth sa root system ng puno, at pinipigilan nito ang pagsira ng mga fungi na maaaring makasira sa malusog na pagtubo ng puno.

Sanggunian:

Dr. Domingo Madulid�s Philippine Ornamental Plants, second edition.