9.20.2008

Bugtong: Pampalipas Oras

1. Sa umaga’y tunay na maasahan,
Sa gabi’y nakakaasar na kung minsan.

SUN CELLULAR

2. Gulong na para lamang sa isa,
Mapipilitang gawing isang dosena.

DUNKIN DONUTS

3. Isang talon na mabilis umagos,
Tapon ng tapon ngunit ‘di maubos-ubos.

NESTEA ICED TEA

9.15.2008

Devaluation of Philippine Money




A discussion in one of the Philippine community forums said, “The 'marketing' of the Philippine peso has yielded minimal outcomes during the last 20 years. Somehow, there is a continuing perception of the Philippine peso, as weak & unstable. Using our vernacular, the currency name 'peso' is becoming synonymous to 'talunan' (ie. loser).”

What is the true value of our peso nowadays? It’s really not surprising that there would come a day when our currency ranges from a 50 peso coin to a 10,000 peso bill if it would continue to devaluate.

When you ask people about the devaluation of the Philippine money, they tend to say, “halos lahat na lang tumataas: gasolina, pamasahe, bilihin. Eh ang ekonomiya, kailan kaya tataas? Ang makikita mo tuloy sa mga balita ay mga taong nanghihinayang sa bawat pisong kanilang ginagastos. Para mo lang kasing tinatapon ang perang pinagtrabahuhan mo, wala namang asenso sa sahod.”

But for me, our economy’s success it’s not all about the devaluation of currency, it’s in the discipline and respect of every Filipino.


Sources:
http://www.history.com Encyclopedia – Devaluation
GCAP (Global Call to Action Against Poverty) – Philippines “Kahirapan Wakasan!”
“Debalwasyon ng Piso: Bakit Nagkaganito?” Ni Danilo Araña Arao Pinoy Weekly (Vol. 3, No. 4, 11-17 February 2004), p. 2
pRO Chaos Guild > News and Public Affairs > Halaga ng Piso

9.06.2008

Hunger and Malnutrition Due to Poverty


Poverty is the main cause of hunger. Poor people often lack access to land to grow food or inadequate income to buy food. Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion live on less than $1 per day, while the world’s 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world’s people. - UNICEF

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by reports that at least three children displaced due to fighting in southern Philippines have died from malnutrition-related illnesses. The small children were all reported to have died on August 28 from diarrhea caused by inadequate food and unsanitary water.

The three dead infants were among hundreds of villagers forced to flee and stay at evacuation centres due to fighting on the southernmost island of Mindanao who have reportedly not received adequate food relief and other emergency assistance from the concerned government authorities.

Facts: Hunger kills. Every day, 34,000 children under five die of hunger or preventable diseases resulting from hunger. - Bread for the World
One in twelve people worldwide is malnourished, including 160 million children under the age of 5. - United Nations Food and Agriculture
It is estimated that 3,100,000 people die each year from diarrhea, and most of the victims are children. - United Nations Food and Agriculture

Many hunger experts believe that ultimately the best way to reduce hunger is through education. Educated people are best able to break out of the cycle of poverty that causes hunger. – UNICEF

Ang Social Weather Station ay nagkaroon ng survey kung saan lumabas na lalong tumaas ang bilang ng mga taong nagugutom ngayon. Ito ang pinakamataas na bilang ng mga taong nagugutom mula na ginawa ng SWS ang survey ng nagugutom noon pang 1998.

Sa survey ng SWS, lumabas na 17 porsiyento 0 mga 2.8 milyon na pamilya ay nakaranas ng gutom minsan sa tatlong buwan nitong mga nakalipas na buwan. Ang survey ay ginanap mula Nov. 27 hanggand Dec. 4, noong nakaranang taong 2005. Masasabing nagugutom ang isang tao kung sa loob ng tatlong buwan ay may mga araw, kahit minsan lang, na siya ay hindi kumain dahil walang makain. Hindi kasama dito ang mga nagpa-fasting dahil sa kanila reliyon.

Ang taas ng malnutrisyon sa mga mahihirap dahil sa wala nga silang makain. Kapag ang isang bata ay malnourished, apektado ang kanyang utak. Kaya sinasabi natin na ang mahirap ay bobo.Hindi sila pinanganak na bobo. Dahil sa kahirapan ang mga bata ay lumalaking bobo. Paano sila ngayon makakita ng magandang trabaho? Paano sila aahon sa kahirapan?

"We are aware that many farming families in parts of the Philippines are facing severe food problems, but most of these go unreported," Payal Rajpal, hunger alert coordinator, said. "We hope that this hunger alert on the Philippines will be a starting point for rowing awareness and advocacy on incidents of starvation there," she said.

"Hunger is not the lack of food, but the poor lack of money to buy it. The solution is to be found not in the politicians’ handouts or the charity soup kitchens but in the hearts of the generous, the compassionate, and the doers of social and economic justice. In a nation that claims to be 80 percent Christian the extent of hunger and poverty is evidence that the teaching of Jesus is not practiced. The preachers and teachers have apparently failed to inspire the development of a society built on social justice. The non-Christian nations of Europe, Japan, Korea and now communist China have done much better. No hunger there, it’s prosperity for the majority.”

"It’s all about equal sharing. That we don’t have in the Philippines except among the poor. That’s how they survive; they share and help each other. The real miracle behind the story of Jesus of Nazareth feeding the 5,000 was the example of the self-sacrifice of his disciples sharing the little they had. They inspired those who had brought food to share it. That greatest miracle was what happened in the heart and mind of those who had more than they needed. They shared the little they had with the hungry and all had enough. That’s the kind of miracle we need in the modern world and especially for the Philippine elite. But there’s little sign of it these days when so many are poor and hungry surrounded by the shameful abundance of the rich."


Sources:
Asian Human Rights Commission, 04 Jul 2005, Philippines: AHRC reports on starvation in Philippines
The Sunday Times (www.manilatimes.net), Sunday, March 4, 2007, REFLECTIONS By Fr. Shay Cullen, Hunger haunts the Philippines
[Hunger Alert] UPDATE (Philippines): Three children die at evacuation centre due to hunger; adequate food urgently needed for starving evacuees
Ellen Tordesillas - Making life worth living, January 8, 2006 at 3:55 pm, Gutom