Looking Past the Vivid Reality

Under the scorching heat of the sun, a young boy of about ten to twelve years old was carrying a big biscuit tin can with hammered stones inside. He put the load on top of his head. He slowly walked at the dusty sidewalk of the road going to Habitat Village in Bool, Bohol. It was lunch time. The parents of this boy might be behind him or still at the place where they gathered, sorted and broke the stones into pieces. The sight pierced and broke my heart. I felt the pain, thinking why should a kid like him work that heavily when he's supposed to study and learn, play and enjoy with other kids. I kept it to myself as if I ignored what I saw, showing nothing to my friends inside the van where we're in. Deep inside, I struggled, cried without tears, my heart was pounded more than the stones that this child carried. I prayed silently for him and for his family, then I became silent inside and accepted the truth that this is the kind of life we have in the Philippines. Everybody has to help work for and survive his or her family regardless of age. 

Years passed, I went to Makati, a huge city in the northern region of the Philippines, close to the capital city, Manila. It is industrialized, busy and different  people bustle about. Traffic, disgruntling heat, smokes from cars and cigarettes, vendors at the sidewalks, noise and pollution around. A picture of a true big city just like Paris to say. While going downstairs from LRT, a boy of about 12 or 13 was lying at the corridor, sleeping with only a big carton as his mat. People passed by him, he wasn't disturbed though. He might be too tired working the whole night selling 'balot', an exotic food in the Philippines which I have tasted a bit, but not eaten. My instant reaction was to feel sorry for that kid. I was thinking deeply while taking and watching my steps as I went down the stairs. I asked myself  'How could I help such a poor kid?, Where are his rights of food, clothes and shelter?, How could such a sight and a poor reflection of a poor economy  be addressed to the government?'. My understanding on poverty was deepened as I tried to compare what I saw years ago back in our province and this time in a big city. I thought, it's even more grave a condition of a homeless child in a real developed city than one in an urban place, in a province so to speak. However, no matter how tiny or huge the difference was, the two incidents still showed something in common-- child abuse and exploitation. 

As I tried to recall the two incidents I witnessed in the previous years, I couldn't help but cry as I pray for those kids, for still some other kids doing the same tasks, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the abused, the mistreated, the rejected, the neglected, the unloved and all the inhumane and bad treatments that some of the kids are suffering somehow somewhere in the corners and borders of the Philippines.

As a concerned citizen and fellow, is there something I can do to help these children out? Should I address it to DSWD? How? I am aware that people from this office aren't blind to see the real situation. They know certainly! However, they might have thought that it's too impossible for them to embrace the scope of it or deal with it one by one because it's widespread and the worst is, it's skyrocketing if I'm not mistaken. Shouldn't they care and dare do their task? Or let me make it more personalized, Shouldn't I care? There are only two options to choose, to ignore the visible reality or do something about it.

Give 'It' a Chance

The issue on RH Bill has become one of the heated topics in the Philippine Senate at present and is the subject of some debates especially between the people in the government and the clergymen. From common people to the elite ones, people in all walks of life participate and follow every now and then on the updates of the issue and ask themselves too whether to agree or not to on the proposed bill. Somehow, they have a stand on their own. Different views, ideas and reasons are raised about the topic and obviously, all these exchange of opinions and reasons have caused confusion, disillusion and even fights.

No one can truly measure how far the arguments would go and when the proposed bill would gain its victory! But the thought that the bill is discussed and considerably wise reasoning and arguments have been presented, then there's hope that the one that weighs heavier and that which possesses sound judgment wins. After all, it's everybody's conscience and values that speak loud to oneself.

If we were to look and observe carefully at what's truly happening in our country, we could say that most of the problems go on and on, are continuing and are becoming a cycle; problems that are compared as hard habits to break. If you're a concerned individual, you'd want to do something to destroy the cycle; however, a single broom stick can't be good enough to sweep off the dirt. So, there's a need of a concerted effort. Then there stands the government. People in the government are the ones entitled to make great efforts in giving solution to most, if not all of our societal problems because they have the power as people in authority. They are the people who should look through the real trouble, dissect if possible to truly see the root cause of such trouble and if they find the cause, then look for the best way to ruin or break it.

Needless to say, as Filipino citizens, we're also aware of the outstanding societal problems that our country is facing and suffering. Sometimes, we doubt whether the government people are trustworthy, capable or wise enough to see the real problems  and solve them  that we'd want an action right away, fast and not delayed. We want to get involved therefore we observe, consider and weigh things, we even sharpen our critical thinking. Sometimes we get mad, disgruntled, impatient and even  get high blood if things don't go the way we expected them. And this is one of the positive traits of Filipinos, I should say, standing for what's right and looking for what's best for everyone's welfare and not just to privileged few; in short Filipinos are brave. This is bravery when one would stand for what's right and would push it through and is firm on it. This is the trait that was greatly displayed by Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio, Dr. Jose Rizal and all of our ancestors who fought for our freedom a century and years ago. Fighting for or standing up for that which is right is desirable. Far be it that Filipinos are only good at criticizing, mocking and blaming the government. We have to think that they are people like us, imperfect and fallible. However true, they need our respect, our trust and our support. If enacting a law is somehow their way to prove to us that they're worth given our respect, trust and support, then we'd give them a chance to do it. If RH Bill is reasonably a best solution to the cycling problem specifically on population explosion and generally on poverty, then we give the government a chance to prove to us that they're right, that we can rely on them. As one nation, we should stand as one as it has been proven true that 'United we stand, divided we fall.' Therefore, we give it a chance.

Reproductive Health Bill

 My question is 'Can this bill solve the outstanding societal problems in the Philippines like  lack of employment, costly education, deteriorating medical services, crime and prostitution?' If it would help solve these issues either directly or indirectly, then I'd support.