Discussion Of Who Is To Blame With Poverty: Poor People Or The Philippine Government
Poverty refers to the condition of not having the resources to afford basic human needs such as clean water, foods, health care, clothing and shelter. It is the state of having less possession than others within a society or country. According to Schriver (2011), poverty is determined by the amount of income that is produced by a family prior to taxes; if this amount is below the threshold determined by the government then they are considered poor. Over a lot of decades, poverty still remain as a challenge in the Philippines. Poverty in Philippines is considered more persistent among any other countries in Southeast Asia. Regardless of a declining rate of poverty in the past years, 13.1 million Filipinos still lie under the national poverty line. Both the Filipino citizens and the Philippine Government are combating this issue for too long, but why isn’t it yet over? Why are there still Filipinos living under severe poverty? Whose fault is poverty? Is it the poor themselves to blame or the Philippine Government? Are the poor became so lazy and neglect their predicament or is it the officials of the Philippine Government who failed to act with their responsibilities? Poverty seems endless in Philippines because of the laziness and undisciplined minds of poor people themselves.
Most of the old officials of the Philippine Government are corrupt. Corruption is one of the big factors that contribute to poverty in Philippines. Because of these corruptions, funds are getting short for health, education, agriculture, and other important matters. But mind this; corrupt officials can’t sit with a position without the citizens’ help. Poor people can’t blame the corrupt government officials since they are the one who chose them to serve the country. They are already given a power to choose the leaders during election, but some of them missed it. On the past elections, people still sold their selves with the so-called vote-buying. According to the webpage Philippine Information, the poor are the one who are likely to sell their vote during elections. Furthermore, the Poverty Action group stated that about 30 percent of Filipinos were offered money by a politician or local leader during the recent election. Citizens said that poor people sold their votes and chose that corrupt leaders due to lack of awareness. The lack of awareness of poor people is the result of being uneducated.
Poor people said that it is hard to escape from poverty especially that they are lacking with formal education due to the government officials’ corruption. In terms of education, an individual can get a free education offered by the government from elementary up to high school. It’s up to them whether they are going to make use of the opportunity. On the other hand, on tertiary level, a student who can’t afford the tuition can apply for a scholarship and student assistance. They may also find a freelance work to support their studies if they really want to. According to Mersan (2018), almost 67 percent of the Filipino youth who lies under the national poverty line are not studying. There are lot of choices when it comes to education. The problem isn’t with the government anymore; it’s in the poor people already.
Lack of job opportunities for poor people is one of the reasons why they are still under the national poverty line. There are lot of decent jobs around. They may participate on the job fair that is happening on their areas. If the poor people are active and patient enough to find a job, they will find one. According to Philstar Global, 60 percent of the Filipinos under national poverty line chose not to work because of the idea that they will not qualify with the jobs offered and it will be just a waste of time.
It’s not the government’s fault anymore; it’s the laziness of the people already. The government is offering the people with different opportunities, but they still decide to remain there on the belief that someone else will take care of them. They became too dependent with what the government is offering. Most of them are able to work but the problem is they are mentally lazy or lacking of self discipline or self motivation to achieve great things. According to Galang (2018), 4 in 10 Filipinos who are poor actually have jobs. This just clearly states that more than half of the poor Filipinos doesn’t have a job.
Poor people are the one who are responsible in controlling their fate. They can run away from poverty by theirselves, but because of their undisciplined minds, they chose not to. Instead of building determination to overcome their condition, some of them chose to do things that would dig theirselves more into poverty. Even with a little amount of their wages, it is possible for them to save even a little amount, but still some of them used their salary for their vices. They do gambling, drinking alcoholic drinks, and using illegal drugs. According to a CNN article, 1 out of 6 poor Filipinos are substance users. They do such thing, and afterwards, they will blame the government with what’s happening to them.
Poverty is the poor people’s fault. The 13.1 million Filipinos are under the national poverty not because the government wants them to be there, but because they chose to. They blame the government with their condition without knowing that their laziness and undisciplined minds are the ones to be blamed. People remain poor by the actions they take. Their lifestyle is a direct result of their actions and reactions throughout life. If they are determined enough to escape poverty, they will. There is always a choice. It’s up to them what choice they are going to take.
