Knowledge is Power

Overpopulation in Ph

By: duane fernandez zambas

Source: http://kuro-kuro.org/archives/2816

The 2010 census on population in some parts of the world is seriously concerning. I now live in a country where the population is slowly growing. Thanks to the social structure that shapes the Canadian culture that for some reason, raising a child in this country is equally as expensive and as demanding as it has ever been in the society that is driven with strong competition in one’s workplace and to stay on top of your career or lost it otherwise. Thus, resulting to a steady or if not, stagnant growth of its population. Over the years, immigration of people from all over the world into this land has managed to push the numbers forward to a manageable and steady growth.

On the other side of the world, the Philippines, has its population in a 180-degree opposite than Canada. When I left the Philippines in 2000, the population was around 80 million. By the end of 2010, the population of the land is expected to register at 94.01 million from last year’s 92.3 million people. A significant increase of 1.85%. To put this matter into context, 37% are below 15 years old, and 15% are between 15 to 24 age group. More than 50% are young and in due time will start to reproduce. As observed, even if each couple will have two (2) children, the country will still experience a staggering population boom in the next 10 years.

Here’s a little bit of comparison (FACTS):

CANADA: Population – 34.11 million ;
Land area – 9.1 million square kilometers (land)

Prov of Ontario: Population- 13.21million
(CANADA) Land Area – 917,741 square kilometer(land)

The Philippines: Population – 92.3 million(2009)
Land Area – 298,170 square kilometer (land)

Now together, we do the math!

It has long been concerning this population growth in the Philippines. IT SHOULD NOW BE DEMANDED by it’s own people: THAT THE CHURCHES, together with all NGO’s, should work hand-in-hand with the GOVERNMENT in the land. It takes aggressive public awareness in order to put this plea on our dinner table until fierce measures done in China’s one (1) child policy in 1979 will be imposed in the country. China’s measure has grossly violated human rights BUT, how about the right to live a decent and a comfortable life? Without a question, it is every human being’s RIGHT as well. After all, is it wrong to become responsible producing creatures in the world?

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                Population explosion has been the greatest dilemma of all countries in the world today. The human overpopulation issue is the topic I see as the most vital to solve if our children and grandchildren are to have a good quality of life. The first solution I could think of in combating population explosion is the promulgation of the Reproductive Health Bill which is the center of all debates around the country today. Business men would probably say yes to it, since it would mean more money to them for manufacturing contraceptives. The church would probably say no, since it is against morality for using artificial method of family planning. And the government would probably still be indecisive. However in my point of view, you don’t need to be pro-contraceptive to be pro-RH Bill. The main target of the Bill is the unfortunate Filipinos who do not have access to contraceptives and it is empirical because you can’t keep them from sexual abstinence forever. Thus, this aims to thwart the ignorance of the people and to exercise their freedom of choice. What if they want to have two children only? But because they can’t afford contraceptives, they tend to depend on calendar method which is not reliable. Thus, RH bill provides the opportunity for poor people to be knowledgeable and free to choose. In this way, we can guarantee the quality life deserved by every baby that is born.

            Second solution that I like to point out is the massive utilization of the people’s potentials. The people are the most significant resources of the country and it would be practical to invest for their development of skills because at the end of the day, the government will benefit in return. I propose an option that instead of earmarking 7billion pesos for the RH Bill, why don’t they invest it for additional schools, hospitals and training centers. It’s like hitting two birds in one stone - you get to solve overpopulation, illiteracy and unemployment at the same time.

            Indeed there are many possibilities that we should consider with. It needs intense scrutiny because there are always two sides of the coin. Hence, I am neither Pro-RH Bill nor anti but rather I am pro to development and knowledge explosion in order to combat all economic issues. Besides, overpopulation is not the only problem that should be resolved here in the Philippines because it’s not every city in the Philippines that is really crowded. If we are really to uplift our country from poverty, we should refocus our attention to the government system and to our self. After all, it’s our mismanagement that caused our sufferings. Let us remember how many laws have been promulgated yet if we are going to measure and evaluate the present condition of the Philippines, it is crystal clear that nothing much had changed because we are not living fully and responsibly. Increase in population is just a normal and an inevitable fact in a developing country and to circumvent its negative effects, we need to thwart the ignorance that blocks our vision to see the progressive future that lies ahead. It should be everybody’s concern. At the end of the day, if knowledge can make trouble, it is never through ignorance that we can solve them.

My Net Take Home Pay Cannot Take Me Home

LOW WAGE

Article: Employers asked to agree to P125 wage increase

Source: Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation

Author: Hannah L. Torregoza

MANILA, Philippines -- Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. Sunday challenged employers to agree to a P125 daily across-the-board wage increase or settle to double the payment benefits of their personnel.

Revilla said that it is high time the employers increase the salary of their employees who have been seriously eroded over the years as “cost of living” run parallel to the price of basic commodities such as oil, food, basic goods and services which are shooting up incessantly.

The senator has filed Senate Bill No. 1981 which seeks a P125 increase in the salary rate of employees and workers in the private sector and is now pushing for its passage in the Senate.

In pushing for the measure, Revilla pointed out that it is the policy of the Senate to alleviate the living conditions of ordinary Filipinos, including the working class, by ensuring the right of labor in the fruits of production.

“Prices of basic commodities and services are jacking up. Our government must show that it is living up to it is promises, and not merely saying words that are nice to hear without actually backing them up with action,” Revilla said.

The government must recognize the importance of the labor force in the national economy and in return, must ensure that they are receiving proper compensation from their decent work.

“We must guarantee the workers’ right to a living salary and promote social justice through the adoption of measures calculated to ascertain the well being and economic security of all the members of the community,” he said.

“Our citizens, especially the common laborers, must be aided from the impact of inflation. Waiting for the half-year before resolving the issue of wage increase would mean negligence on the part of the government,” added Revilla.

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                Anyone who has struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. Unfortunately, for us Filipinos, we know exactly how it feels since our economic have always been dwindling due to corruption, inflation and other facets of economic downfall which eventually leads to poverty. Poverty has become a gigantic monster that thwarts the dreams of every family living in a wage which they can’t even live with. Low wage is apparently a long time problem which seems to have passed in every president’s table but despite the efforts, still it remains unresolved simply because one man’s wage increase is another man’s price increase.

                People all over the country are now clamoring for a P125 across-the-board wage increase in accordance with the Senate Bill No.1981 to provide immediate economic relief to Filipino workers and the people who are reeling from increasing prices of basic goods and increase in fares. Personally, I am amenable with the wage increase since it is indeed impossible nowadays to survive while all the basic commodities are getting costly. Amidst the escalating prices of petroleum, goods and services, workers need something that would alleviate poverty and would boost their enthusiasm to work even harder. Hence, preventing these people to commit anomalies in their respective institutions since poverty pushes people to go astray which eventually leads to the decline of the economic status of the country. The wage increase is also reasonable given that workers are paid for a day, unlike other countries which pays for an hour. In my point of view, it is not really a big deal to grant workers an additional salary; it is rather a strategy because it’s the government which will benefit in return. I remember what Julius Caesar did to expand his empire. He considered the welfare of his army by giving them what they deserve and in return, his army fought skillfully provided that they are fighting for a cost. Relatively, let us not forget the significance of the workforce. That government exists, because its system continues and run by the workers. Hence, it will be selfish and shameful to withhold such wealth while the entire country is suffering from poverty. The mainstream here is that if this wage increase will be pursued, then basically it will support more families and breadwinners will not need to go abroad anymore, thus keeping the basic unit of the society solid and unified.

                In addition, if there will be P125 across-the-board wage increase, the workers will not anymore bewail outside the streets to protest and demonstrate. Also, the employees will not be tempted anymore for bribery and other under the table deals. However, striving for a higher salary standardization to cope up with the escalating prices of basic commodities would entail price control act and oil deregulation in order not to defeat the purpose of providing wider opportunities to savor a better life for Filipino families. This would be a tough road especially for those who are on the table and has the power to decide. But if all these will be truly done without any pretense, certainly no one will ever say again “my net take home pay, cannot take me home”.

Aquino's Administration's Way of Combating Oil Price Hike is Futile

Article: Fuel subsidy useless

Source: Manila Bulletin - Saturday, April 9,2011

MANILA, Philippines - The frequent oil price hikes have rendered the government's fuel subsidy program useless, jeepney drivers and operators said on Saturday. George San Mateo, secretary general of transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), said the upcoming round of price increase only proves that the fuel subsidy of the Aquino administration is ineffective in addressing the problem brought about by oil price adjustments. He said the government would not be able to solve the problem unless it suspends the implementation of the oil deregulation law. "Mariin po naming kinokondena ang Aquino government sa anunsyo ng Department of Energy (DoE) na may oil price hike na naman sa Martes, April 12, na posibleng aabot sa P1.27 to P1.29 sa kada litro ng diesel at gasoline," said San Mateo. ["We strongly condemn the government for the DoE announcement that there would be another round of oil price increase on Tuesday, which might be around P1.27 to P1.29 per liter of diesel or gasoline."] He said suspension of the oil deregulation law is the ultimate solution to the problem because it would allow the government to control and stop the surging prices of fuel. San Mateo said the government should likewise suspend the law imposing value-added tax on fuel. He said suspending such law would enable the government to roll back the prices of diesel and gasoline by P5.64 and P6.60, respectively, per liter. He said the leaders of their group will huddle on Sunday to discuss the strike they plan to stage in front of Shell Philippines' head office in Makati on April 12. He said they will also tackle their preparations for the May 1 nationwide strike in expression of their protest against overpricing of oil and other commodities, and their advocacy for the proposed P125 nationwide wage increase.

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            In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or else all go down as one people.

            Our country has been buffeted by several various economic problems lately. The issue above has been long – time problem of fuel consumers, both public and private entities which greatly affected our people most especially commuters. Standing as part of the third world countries, it must have been very difficult on our part to get through amidst the increasing prices in market and oil price hikes. Indeed President Benigno Aquino’s decision of granting fuel subsidy to jeepney drivers, farmers and fishermen seemed futile after another oil price hike was recently implemented, thus defeating the purpose of alleviating the crisis. If only the suspension of value-added tax on fuel products will be pursued, saying removing the VAT for diesel can bring down prices by more than P5/liter. Then certainly, it could have provided us with a more realistic solution than what was earlier proposed. With this, I couldn’t help myself but think that the government might just trying to shore up its sagging image through the so called “fuel subsidy”. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really free us from the frets of inflation. Hence, this reinforces the belief that Palace needs a better plan to mitigate the impact of rising plump prices. But I think this proposal overlooked vital facets in the execution of fuel subsidy. Aside from it is just a short-term solution which is not much promising, the fuel subsidy will also only benefit certain sectors and even as it is yet to be implemented, the oil price hike already negated the effects of the government's fuel subsidy. Also under the governments fuel assistance program, they will distribute 214,000 smart cards each good for P1,050 worth of diesel fuel . And in my point of view, it is rather impractical to use smart cards given that some gas stations presumably those in rural areas are not equipped to accept fuel cards. Also, it is not yet clear on how the government will distribute them. As Piston Secretary-General George San Mateo once said, It will take three to four weeks before the smart cards will be usable. It will take a long time for us to get the benefits from that, and you don’t even know if it will get to the jeepney driver or the tricycle driver because the money will be given to the operators. Say for example a jeepney has two drivers, hence there will be discrepancy in the dissemination.

            Relatively, in economics point of view – the “Law of Supply and Demand” – The supply is high, when the demand is low. Also, when the supply is low, the demand is high. Hence, they are inversely proportional with each other. Humorously, this is very far from the oil supply and the demand of necessity in industry especially in the Philippines which cannot provide from oil deposits in Malampaya. And since we are dependent on powerful oil producing countries, we don’t have control on the global market of petroleum.

            The government must do something that will have a positive impact. It’s a good response though from the government to subsidize the fuel. The allocation of P450 million is a serious manifestation of the Aquino’s administration to combat oil price hike in the form of pecuniary aid. However, they also ought to come up a feasible plan that would greatly benefit the most. The government should not begrudge the wealthy if they also benefit, because the plan will also meet the objective of providing relief to the poor. Hence, we should work hand in hand to come up a solution because at the end of the day the success of this nation would greatly depend on its people.