POPULATION AND POVERTY
By Atty. Robin P. Rubinos
In the beginning, there was no rich or poor. All were equal. Land was owned in common and food was shared by everybody. But as time went on, private property was born and man became greedy. Nations progressed and civilization arose. The strong enslaved the weak and the clever duped the fool. Then, hunger spread over the land, the sad story of our creation.
But, it was not like that at the start. Among primitive peoples, land was owned by the community and the tribe shared the fruits together. Told about the poor in London, a Samoan asked in astonishment: “How is it? No food? No friends? No house to live in? Where did he grow? Are there no houses belonging to his friends?” The words “mine” and “thine” which St. Chrysostom says extinguished in our hearts the fire of charity and kindled that of greed, were unknown to people we call savages.
Hunters and herders had no need of private property in land. Hunters scoured the forest for food and herders grazed their cattle on the roam. But when women who stayed at home discovered agriculture - - that seeds thrown away soon sprout and grow - - men surrounded their backyard and called it their own. They guarded it fiercely and kept for themselves its produce, the beginning of private property. And when his crops fail, he envies his neighbor’s field, and will soon cart away its harvest or even grab the land, the emergence of greed.
From perfect equality of the primitive peoples, man progressed to the unmitigated inequality of modern civilization. And it was not overpopulation that bred this inequality, the poverty of most and the wealth of a few; it was greed.
No evidence shows that too many people caused hunger. Have they counted how many tons of palay do we produce and divided it equally among the population? Have they added up the boats of fish hauled out of our deep seas and saw how many will feed each mouth? If they did, they would discover not a poor soul would go hungry.
So why wrangle over the reproductive health bill? That is barking up the wrong tree. It diverts over attention, it consumes our energy, it blinds us to the real culprit which is inequality and ultimately greed in our hearts.
Advocates of the RH bill point to countries who have less population than before and are now progressing. But the statistics do not prove that they progressed because of low population. Rather, the evidence indicates the other way around - - that their progress caused their population to fall, as career individuals delay marriage or reduce childbirths because of their studies or jobs.
We have family planning programs since the 1970s, our government distributing pills, IUDs and condoms and undertaking ligations and vasectomy. But it has had no effect. Why? Because it is against human nature, the instinct of preservation of the specie. So that in one rare instance when a man, an Aeta, agreed to be castrated, at the point when the operation was about to begin, he broke loose and fled.
On the other hand, can we say that we have done all we could to stamp out the hunger grinding our stomachs, to ease the pain that wrings our hearts, in these our islands of tears and sorrow? Have we implemented true land reform? Have we built irrigation canals to water our field, and roads to bring our crops to the market? Have we sent the poor’s children to college for free, even if they have not passed the state colleges’ entrance examination because they studied only in public high schools in the province? Have we ensured that at least one member of poor families is employed in the government, even if they have not passed the civil service examinations because they did not go to exclusive schools or the University of the Philippines? Sadly, we have not and how miserably we have failed. This is the vision the government should set before the people and for whose realization, it should apply its finest creativity, devote its greatest zeal and summon its grandest eloquence. And surely, the people will answer the call to eradicate poverty and abolish inequality, and in the short life that we have, offer a nation of joy to our children.
To this end, the debate over the reproductive health bill is useless.
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By Aireen Joy Pelingon Tarroja, M. D.
While the kids my age were enjoying playing in the streets and in the beach,
I sometimes join them but preferred more staying indoors to play teacher to my younger cousins or eating fruits delightfully (like mangga, garangan, bangkiling, etc.) soaked in vinegar with closest friends.
While my elementary classmates were sharing crushes with one another, I was sharing jokes & stories.
While most of my high school classmates started having boyfriends & exchanged love notes, I was exchanging Sweet Valley and Nancy Drew books with bestfriends.
While some friends started drinking beers & gins, I was so hesitant to drink Cali Shandy.
While most of my buddies graduated and worked, I graduated and studied again.
While some of my high school & elementary buddies got married & started having kids, I was preparing for another graduation.
While some of my classmate's kids have already started schooling, It’s the time I began earning, saving and preparing...
Wow. Such a late bloomer I have been. Whenever I wonder what could have happened if I grew otherwise, I always get to the conclusion that... I’d rather bloom late than facing the sour consequences of being too impulsive to wait.
But, of course, each of us has his own path to take; each of us has his/her unique, special fate. :)
I am grateful and blessed with mine. Ü
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Dr. Aireen Joy P Tarroja is Valedictorian of Class 1995 of Diclum ES.
She also graduated valedictorian at Dao Catholic High School in 1998.
She took up BS Public Health from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (Miag-ao) and her Doctor of Medicine from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila. Dr. Tarroja also writes for various magazines & other kinds of publications.
