ruth wrote:

QUOTE:
quote: jacques08
It was never your fault to be born poor, but to die poor is.
On a more spiritual note, one can die poor materially, but can die rich spiritually.

those facts/ideas are true...

i guess you should pity those poor people who has the talent and skills to work but cant work due to discrimination..

the church already done some charitable works like "pondo ng pinoy" which already help some of our fellow filipinos..

then again like the government the church cant accommodate all of citizens here in the philippines and thats why our government and even the church calls each and every one of us to help each other..<br><br>Post edited by: stormrage10, at: 2007/07/30 12:26

stormrage,

i do not want to be pessimistic here, but &quot;helping each other&quot; seems to be wishful thinking..

unless there is cultural and nationwide reformation so that everyone, church, government and the citizens have nothing to turn to but themselves.

Should squatters be sympathized? no, but they should equally be respected. Some squatter dwellers are productive and are tax payers too...these are the tax payers who does not have any choice but to pay correct taxes ..unlike rich people who can get away with not paying the correct taxes.

Also squatter dwellers is the biggest market for food products...biggest number of voters too.

They should be uplifted for what they contribute and not tolerated for what they do if they commit mistakes (along with other people who commit mistakes too, squatter dwellers or not).


IF they are dwelling on public property let the government impose laws so that those who do not follow the law will be punished. Let the government reinfornce the law instead of tolerating squatters to get more votes.

If they are dwelling on private property and that property happen to be YOURs, then dont tolerate them, sue them.

But if you are not the owner of that property, you do not have the right to complain.

You as a Filipino is only as strong as your weakest link. Don't bash your own countrymen.

You are asking the wrong question. Squatters are the result of the country's leadership failure to continue the building of the nation that President Quirino started but never materialized after Marcos messed up the country's struggle to follow the democratic process modelled after the USA. The squatters' lot is the responsibility of the govenment...to plan and execute economic policies that will help the Filipinos, specially from the hinterland (rural areas, fishing villages, etc.) engage in productive livelihood. The question to ask is how can the Philippine Government help the Filipinos find jobs that will give them enough salary to support their families? At the same time, how can the government, religious establishments, the media (newspapers, television) and
educational institutions work together to discourage Filipinos from siring too many children when they cannot afford to feed them?

There are lots of work to do. Pitying them will not solve the problems we call &quot;squatters&quot;.

Yes, pitying them will not do any good.

Also, demolishing squatter communities is a superficial solution to an otherwise deeper problem. This cannot be adequately addressed without solving the basic concerns (poverty, lack of opportunities, high cost of education, rising prices of basic goods, etc.) afflicting the nation. The poor people from the countrysides who build shanties on owned land do so because of the lack of real choices.

Let me share Manuel Quezon III's thoughts from his writings on the matter. He offers a solution to this problem: &quot;National and local government should accelerate the transformation of squatter areas into well-governed communities, the question of who holds the title to the land being the last priority.&quot;

Well, I can relate to this topic very much because I myself lived in the squatters for 10 years. My parents, cousins lived there. But I didn't let my situation hinder me to continue to study and look for a better job. Now, I can say that I am successful because I can now provide a better life for my family, my struggles and experiences really helped me
a lot on how to become a better person. I do believe that squatters don't need to be sympathized, they should be educated and motivated on how to improve their lives. And that
the government plays an important role as to how the community should improve by focusing on a long-term program. It reminds me of this phrase, &quot;Don't give a person a fish, you teach them
how to fish.&quot;

I think the government should do something about it, I mean people are getting more depressed as they have no trust in the current government situation,

But the most important factor is the parents, if you cannot take care of your children then why you still continue to make one, overpopulation is also a problem, and the demand of food is greater than the current supply