Begging schoolchildren

On my way to work today, I encountered two grade 1 or grade 2 kids of Balara Elementary School. They blocked my way and asked, "Kuya, pahingi po barya", I was caught off guard by their plea since they are two uniformed children begging for coins from passersby. Still, I hurriedly said, "Sorry, wala akong barya". They replied, "Kuya kahit magkano para pambili lang ng pagkain". Honestly, I don't have a single coin in my pocket. So I told them to ask other people. And they hurriedly asked someone, a student of UP Diliman. That man told them, "oist! masama yan". So there I went to the waiting shed for my jeepney ride. Yet that experience really keeps playing on my mind. It's the first time that I was begged by schoolchildren! With that, I pity them and went back to the area where they beg, but before that, I changed my 100 peso bill so that I can give them some. On my way back, I've seen them talking to a third schoolchild on the way to school. They're telling that child or classmate maybe that they got some baon (or not) from begging. It's too late though, they're on their way to school. The third child, however sits for a while on the sidewalk, maybe reflecting on what the two begging schoolchildren had told him. So OK, I went back on my way to work, passing near him and looking at him in the eye, yet he keeps on sitting not looking at anyone, maybe because that child is embarrassed at the idea of begging. Good child! So there goes my first experience of being begged by schoolchildren.
What a pity! Just what are their parents doing? Maybe the hard realities of life in the Philippines disabled their parents to give them baon. Or it can be that their parents just told them to ask passersby for their baon. This is sick, really. I have read a study on child beggars in Metro Manila before, where the researchers conclude that it's abject poverty that drives these children to beg, as against the common knowledge that these children beg coins to buy their supply for substance abuse like rugby or to gamble at an early age. They beg because they don't have food to eat. They have hungry stomachs and dry mouths. Of course the Philippines have child support institutions and NGOs established for the plight of these children, yet these institutions, as I see it, are active only in funding campaigns. Are they around in areas frequented by begging children? No, they're absent there.
Actually, I am not into giving coins for beggars along sidewalks, or those children climbing the jeeps and wipes off passengers' shoes for some coins. I have never given them a single coin for reasons that the act of begging passengers is wrong. It's human nature, If I give them some, they will keep on begging since its profitable for them. Yet, I see those schoolchildren as exemption. It's a common thing to say that "children must be off the streets, they must be in schools. So there, those children are going to school and begging. Sigh! There must be a place for these children in Philippine society. Something must be done to stop them from begging. Poverty alleviation should be prioritized by anyone.

Is the Philippines overpopulated?

By : Mong Palatino | YEHEY! In-house Production
25 September 2007

"This entry is from yehey.com, the figures and ranking are changed to bring it to current figures, Mong Palatino's figures for the ranking is outdated."

The Philippines is the 14th (12th) most populous country in the world and third (second) in the Southeast Asian region. Young dependents comprise 34 percent of the population, 62 percent belong to the working-age group and 4 percent are categorized as elderly dependents. Scholars have estimated that the large youth population will continue until the year 2040, but the working-age population and the number of senior citizens will increase much faster.

The Philippines has one of the fastest-growing populations in the world. During the 1980s, the Philippines and Thailand had the same population level of around 55 million. Today, Thailand has 60 million while the Philippines has 88 million. A European diplomat recently noted that 200 years ago there were more Scots (1.7 million) than there were Filipinos (1.6 million). Today, Scotland has a population of only 5 million.

Many economists insist that a high population growth results in lower per capita income and higher poverty incidence. High fertility rates result in poor education access and quality, malnutrition, environmental degradation, resource depletion, a decrease in household resources, limited economic opportunities for women, an increase in maternal and child mortality and abortion rates. In short, as family size increases, there is reduction in investment in human capital.

But there are groups led by the Catholic Church which maintain that a high population growth is not a problem. There is even a respected politician who once asserted that 88 million Filipinos could live in the small island of Bohol. There are scholars who view the young population of the Philippines as the most valuable resource of the country. They remind the public how many governments of developed countries are encouraging their citizens to bear many children to offset the negative consequences of an aging population.

They assert that poverty is not caused by overpopulation. They blame corruption in society, especially in government, which deprives the poor of vital social services. That the income share of the richest 10 percent of the population is more than 20 times the income of the poorest 10 percent proves that inequality, not overpopulation, is the principal problem of the country.

The population policies of the government claim to promote responsible parenthood, respect for life, birth spacing and informed choice. But there is still no comprehensive and well-defined population management program in the country. Politicians are afraid to antagonize the Catholic Church which rejects all artificial methods of family planning. There are many local government officials who removed funding support for reproductive health services, which denied the people their right to choose the appropriate family planning method for their families.

Scholars are appealing to the Catholic Church hierarchy and other religious groups "to take a more tolerant and humane position on the need for a state-supported population policy backed by a responsive family planning program."

Dr. Ernesto M. Pernia, an economist, has a provocative comment on the link between religion and economic growth. He said that religion in terms of belief in afterlife and fear of hell is good for economic growth while mere church attendance has the opposite effect. He compares the Philippines and the Catholic-dominated Latin American societies with East Asian Buddhist countries. He noted that the wealth, economic performance, political instability, boom-and-bust cycles and lavish spending on fiestas in the Philippines and Latin American countries are strikingly similar. Pernia thinks the Philippines is more suited to belong to Latin America than East Asia.

The Philippines' lower economic standing than Latin American countries seems to be the only notable difference. Pernia asks a daring question: Could it be that in the Philippines the Catholic Church hierarchy has been overly conservative and intolerant, while those in Latin American countries are more liberal and tolerant, with respect to population policy and family planning programs?

Politicians should listen to the sentiments of the people rather than blindly obeying the sermons of priests. Recent surveys reveal that more than 90 percent of the population thinks that ability to control fertility and plan a family is important while 89 percent thinks that government should provide budgetary support for modern methods of family planning including the pill, IUD, condoms, tubal ligation and vasectomy.

It is correct to emphasize that the economic problems of the Philippines are not rooted in rapid population growth alone. We can cite corruption, inequity and bad economic policies as major factors why the country has not progressed. But we cannot also deny the link between population and poverty. Slowing down population growth will enable the country to invest more in human capital.

Managing population should not be equated with abortion as some religious leaders claim. Promoting reproductive health rights is a social justice issue. Respecting the family size preference and family planning method of couples affirm the human rights of women.