3 million expected to ‘Stand Up, Speak Out’ against poverty

[shadow]

3 million expected to ‘Stand Up, Speak Out’ against poverty

MANILA, Philippines -- Some 2,000 Filipinos, including government officials, teachers, students and soldiers, Wednesday joined a global campaign to end poverty by standing up and making a symbolic pledge at the Rizal Park in Manila.
They pledged to reject not only excuses that allow 50,000 people to die every day because of extreme poverty but also the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
They also urged government leaders to govern fairly, fight corruption and fulfill human rights.
Many of them wore white wristbands with sketches of multicolored human figures.
Organizers in the country expected three million people to stand up and make the pledge -- in parks, government and private offices, schools, hospitals, restaurants -- around the country from 5 a.m. to midnight Wednesday night.
An auditing firm will do a head count and hopefully, a record of sorts will be established for possible submission to the Guinness Book of Records, Agnes Aleman, UN national information officer, said.
The “Stand Up, Speak Out” pledge is part of the UN campaign to promote the Millennium Development Goals that include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education and ensuring a sustainable environment by 2015.
“Hopefully, this will encourage our leaders to fulfill their promise,” said Aleman.
Biggest headway
The Asia-Pacific region had more than one billion people living on less than $1 a day in 1990, but that number has dropped to 641 million and is likely to be cut in half by 2015, according to an Asian Development Bank-UN report.
China has made the biggest headway, with one in every three Chinese living in poverty in 1990, compared with one in every 10 today, the report said. But other countries were lagging behind, among them the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“We would like to be one with others in recognizing our effort to fight against poverty,” Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said.
In 1990, about 27 percent of Filipinos lived in extreme poverty -- on less than P1,022 a month -- but this has gone down to 17 percent, she said.
The country’s financial stability and social services, including subsidies for food and medicines, have helped reduce the incidence of extreme poverty, according to Assistant Secretary Dolores Castillo of the National Anti-Poverty Commission
Guinness record
Last year’s “Stand Up Against Poverty” campaign holds the official record title in the Guinness Book of World Records for 24 million people who stood up against poverty in 24 hours in 87 countries.
The Philippines ranked third in the Asia-Pacific region with 2.4 million joining the campaign, after India (9 million) and Nepal (over three million).
By holding fun activities on Wednesday, organizers said they hoped the youth would become aware of the need to eradicate poverty.
Exhibit, rock concert
Apart from the event marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty at the Rizal Park, an exhibit was held in Quezon City and a rock concert and cultural show were staged in Makati City.
At the Liwasang Aurora in Quezon City, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) challenged government officials and policymakers to be “one with the poor” and live with only P41 for a day to “truly experience” what it is like to live on an empty stomach.
GCAP-Philippines said about 68 million Filipinos (more than 77 percent of the total population) were living on only P96 or less a day. Yet, the government claims that the poverty threshold is P41, thus creating an illusion of a reduced number of poor people in the country, according to the group.
“The government is feeding us with words and inaction perhaps because words are the only thing that the P41 per person can afford,” Erning Ofracio, an urban poor, said at a forum attended by some 60 nongovernment organizations.
At the fair, NGOs put up booths selling products of local communities and handing out advocacy materials. The fair became a place for discussions and exhibits on various initiatives aimed at ending poverty.
Poverty Requiem
Poverty Requiem, an artistic performance against poverty that combines visual arts, music and movement, was performed at the Liwasang Aurora.
GCAP-Philippines claimed that the P10 billion in additional budget for hunger and poverty mitigation programs announced on Monday was part of a “publicity” stunt.
“The government’s declaration of it’s six-month war on hunger earlier this year proved to be ineffective, simply palliatives or band-aid solutions to worsening hunger and poverty,” Nora Protacio, GCAP-Philippines Ambassador said in a statement.
She was reacting to a recent survey by Social Weather Stations, which showed that 21.5 percent of Filipinos had experienced involuntary hunger, the highest level recorded in the country.
Notes on dioramas
In Baguio City, everyone walking down Session Road caught a catchy note posted on wire-framed dioramas placed on Session Road on Tuesday.
The noted read “Sana magutom din ang Presidente (I hope the President starves)!”
It was one of many notes written by students, vendors, teachers and bank employees who interacted with Baguio artists on the eve of the annual Stand Up Against Poverty campaign.
On Tuesday, sculptor Kigao Rosimo, musician Shant Verdun and performance artist Rene Aquitania shaped ordinary wire into 15 human figures to represent the country’s enduring war with poverty.
They covered the frames with colored plastic sheets to simulate stained glass, and installed the dioramas on Session Road.
Christmas wishes
The artists asked every one who walked by to post early Christmas wishes on the dioramas.
But people offered angry messages against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo because of various scandals that have embroiled her administration, Rosimo said.
Foremost among the issues discussed by pedestrians was the money that Malacañang allegedly had given local officials.
“That is cruel. The people are starving yet she is still capable of granting politicians favors,” said a resident.
He wrote: “Tama na! Sobra na! Alisin ang mga corrupt sa gobyerno (Enough! We’ve had it! Remove all corrupt officials from government!).”
Another wrote: “Sana matugunan ng residente ang hinaing ng mga mahihirap (I wish the President can finally address the complaint of our poor people).”
The National Statistical Coordination Board has classified about 50 percent of Cordillera farming families as poor.
Innabuyog, the Cordillera affiliate of the party-list group Gabriela, said sharp increases in Cordillera malnutrition, which was noted this year by the government, confirmed that most poverty-alleviation projects have failed.
The Tuesday event led to a major concert Wednesday at the Baguio City Public Market where country western musicians were to be joined by 500 porters who would speak out against poverty.

[mazdamazda]

While I respect what they are trying to achieve with this awareness program we can also make a difference in one child's life immediately:

http://www.worldvision.org.ph/articles.php?cat=5

[v6dreamer]

people helping peoples is a noble things. Those people are blessed from above.

[smooth]

okay, i'm going to get a lot of flack for this but who else do we have to blame but ourselves? pansin ko kasi ang pinoy puro sumbat, puro reklamo, pero wala namang gawa. puro bakasyon ang hanap, puro holiday, puro breaktime, pero pag tiningnan mo ang quality ng gawa, bagsak. lagi ko sinasabi: we will be rewarded based on ouput not effort. feeling kasi natin komo madami na tayong ginawa, dapat bigyan na tayo ng reward. effort is nothing without output.

look at china. my friend who visited a chinese factory said na hindi malaking misteryo bakit ambilis umangat ng china. ang sisipag ng mga chinese. pag-time-in puro trabaho lang inaatupag. walang meryenda break; lunch break lang na maiksi ang meron sila. tapos pag time-out na, halos kelangan mo pa daw hatakin ang trabahador para tumigil na sa pagtrabaho. wala daw weekends. 7 days a week nagtatrabaho.

compare mo sa pinas. puro breaktime. puro reklamo. laging nakatingin sa relo kasi hindi makahintay ng uwian. puro good time ang nasa isip. ambagal ng turn-around time sa mga "to do." tapos ingit na ingit sa china at korea kung bakit sobrang progresibo na. kaya maiiwanan na talaga tayo ng vietnam. ang tatamad natin e. we want the maximum financial reward for the minimum effort. we're always looking for the get rich quick and easy money rackets.

[niwde11]

smooth, to summarize it, we are not output oriented. kahit 5 days ka lang magtrabaho if your output ay very productive i think we will go a long way. marami kasi sati basta makapasok ng 8 hours isang araw e okay na sa kanila. di man lang nila tinitingnan at the end of the day kung naging productive. well, baka naman kasi yung iba kala na nila productive sila sa isip nila.

[uls]

Sir Smooth, u wont get any flack from me coz i completely agree with u.

and to add to what u have said...

a rally wont attract capital

a rally wont create jobs

a rally wont stop corruption

a rally wont improve peace and order

[raine]

ang dapat nating bigyan ng pansin is kung papaano tayo makakatulong to stop gaft and corruption, at pagnangyari ito gaganda ang serbisyo ng govt, maibibigay ang dapat na para sa tao, at lahat dapat mag bigay ng effort para masugpo ito, kasi sobra na ang G&C ng pilipinas, karamihan kasi sa atin nagiging part ng rin ng G&C like nalang sa pagpaparegister ng kotse, karamihan nag lalagay sa fixer na dapat isumbong at hulihin, sa smoke test nilalagyan na lang para pumasa, sobrang lantaran na ang G&C dito sa pilipinas.

[A121]

* smooth

I agree with you.

* uls,

the rally is there just to show that we are supporting the movement against poverty. un lang. nothing more.

[VtEC]

okay, i'm going to get a lot of flack for this but who else do we have to blame but ourselves? pansin ko kasi ang pinoy puro sumbat, puro reklamo, pero wala namang gawa.

OT: 100% agree ako dito.pero totoo ding ala kang magagawa kung mag isa kalang na nagrereklamo or gumagawa ng mabuti sa gobyerno.worst part of it e mapag initan ka ng mga ulanghiya..kaya me reklamo.walang magrereklamo kung walang irereklamo.site konalang yong sa mga simple traffic rules.yong good citizen sunod sa rules pero yon mismong enforcers parang bulag don sa mga violators say, pagtawid sa pedestrian lanes.

look at china. my friend who visited a chinese factory said na hindi malaking misteryo bakit ambilis umangat ng china. ang sisipag ng mga chinese. pag-time-in puro trabaho lang inaatupag. walang meryenda break; lunch break lang na maiksi ang meron sila. tapos pag time-out na, halos kelangan mo pa daw hatakin ang trabahador para tumigil na sa pagtrabaho. wala daw weekends. 7 days a week nagtatrabaho.

parang tama na mali ito e..china can control their people kasi communist yan.afaik, sa china, specially sa manufacturing, talagang masisipag yan kasi once na nagtamad tamad, palit agad (sa dami ba naman ng tao don e).they dont really entertain complains.alang union e.which is good on the side of the capitalists.sa case naman ng mga buntis, uncertain kung makakabalik pa sila work nila o hindi once na nagmaternity leave na sila.kabaligtaran lahat yan sa pinas.buntis, me maternity, at union.

pero pag tiningnan mo ang quality ng gawa, bagsak. lagi ko sinasabi: we will be rewarded based on ouput not effort. feeling kasi natin komo madami na tayong ginawa, dapat bigyan na tayo ng reward. effort is nothing without output

i think i have to disagree on this.
compared to china, pag dating sa quality the best padin tayo.china is more on quantity and less on quality.

i should know all this facts for i worked in a manufacturing company for more than 10years.we are way ahead pag dating sa quality.ewan kolang ngayon baka nakahabol na sila.pero palagay ko hindi padin

[v6dreamer]

Who elected those people?

Who put theme in the Congress and Senate?

Who elected the President (past and present)?

Your vote is your voice. Voters must stand up, and said this is enought. If you dont do your duty as a citizens then you corrupted yourself too. There still a hope and its not too late to change.