Nstp module 3
world. This is a complex problem
National concerns
Lesson 1: poverty
Lesson 2: health
Lesson 3: environment
Lesson 4: education
Lesson 5: governance
Introduction
You have learned in your previous
module about the threats to human
dignity such as social order, extreme
poverty, dehumanizing effect of
urbanization and exploitation fo
workers. The threats to human dignity
can be seen all around in us, and this
is much closer than we thought. We
are bombarded with the issues of the
society; but sad to say this is part of
the realities of life. But are these
threats impossible to eradicate? Are
the issues of the society the real
problem? Or the problem really is: how
do we see these issues? This module
will discuss about the issues and
concerns of society. At the end of this
module you are expected:
1. to understand the nature of the
different issues and concerns of
the society
2. 2. to identify solutions to
eradicate the pressing
problems in the country
3. to develop a positive response
to the different issues and
concerns
Lesson 1: POVERTY
Did you know that almost 1 out 2
Filipinos consider themselves as
poor? Specifically this means that
46 of Filipino families or 40.4
million Filipinos of the projected 86
million populations of 2007 see
themselves as poor [Social
Weather Stations last January
2008].
Poverty means the inability to
secure the minimum consumption
requirements for life, health and
efficiency on account of insufficient
income or property. These
requirements include minimum
human needs in respect of food,
clothing, housing, education and
health.
Poverty is present all over the
because there are many factors
that are involved in it and they
may differ in perspectives.
A. Globalization
Globalization is the growing
integration of economies and
societies around the world. It has
been one of the most disputed
topics in international economics
over the past few years. It had
opened economies domestically
and internationally. Globalization
has both positive and negative
effects.
Globalization had led to global
competition that might cause some
beneficial effects such as increase
in production and efficiency, and
this may also lead to the decrease
in the product prices. Other
beneficial effects of globalization
show its potential value in
improving the position of all
parties; this may cause increased
outputs and increased wage levels
and living standards. The result of
this is a potential for greater
human well being throughout the
world. But there are also negative
effects of the global competition
and these are the fears of the
existence of global bias.
B. Recession
The negative effects of globalization
are unemployment and economic
recession. Recession is defined as a
significant decline in activity spread
across the economy, lasting longer
than a few months and it can also be
define as two consecutive quarters of
negative economic growth. How does
recession really happen? The growth of
economy is based on the balance
between the production and
consumption of goods and services.
However, because the world is not
perfect, at some point, the economy
has to slow down.
This slow down could be caused by
something as simple as an oversupply,
where producers manufacture too
many goods. When this happens, the
demand for those goods will drop. This
causes earnings or incomes to drop even depression. Therefore a
and the equity markets to fall. The person who is unemployed may
mere mention of these words bring feel poor because of his inability to
fear to most people, we think that it secure a job.
brings about economic difficulties, loss Developing one’s self by acquiring
of jobs, increase in the price of basic new skills increases the
commodities and others. marketability of person; another is
C. Unemployment being open to career changes or
Do you know that the shifting from one profession to
unemployment rate in the another. The fact that some people
Philippines was estimated at 7.3 are unemployed does not
percent in 2008? necessarily mean that there are no
Unemploy Ran % Date jobs available.
ment rate k in chan of
the ge info D. Informal setting
worl Another problem that arises from
d poverty is informal settling. It is the act
0 10.20% 95 200 of occupying and abandoned or
3 2 unoccupied space or building, usually
0 11.40% 83 11.76 200 residential; squatters do not own, rent
4 % 3 or otherwise have permission to use a
0 11.70% 107 2.63 200 piece of property. Squatters are
5 % 4 normal sights now in the metropolis.
est. Are there possible solutions to
eradicate the squatting problem in the
0 8.70% 89 - 200
Philippines?
6 25.64 5
The government offers low-cost
% est.
housing for people from the squatter’s
0 7.90% 93 - 200
areas, and other NGO’s make projects
7 9.20 6
that aim to give housing for people.
% est.
0 7.30% 93 - 200
LESSON 2 HEALTH
8 7.59 7
INTRODUCTION
% est.
in the previous lesson, we have
discussed poverty as a perennial
This is according to the data from
problem in our country, and its causes.
the national statistics office.
it seems that our country will not run
Unemployment occurs when
out of problems and this dampens the
individuals who are willing to work
spirits of millions of Filipinos. As you
can not find jobs. Many argue
read further through this module, you
about the real cause of
will encounter different societal
unemployment, some say that it
problems that are probably not new to
occurs because of the imbalance of
you. in this lesson, we will tackle the
the demand and supply of working
problems and issues regarding health.
hours. It may also be caused by the
If you are ready, you may proceed to
technological advancement that
the discussion.
human force/man power is
Did you know that every year, half a
replaced by machines. Being
million around the world die from
jobless would subsequently mean
complications of pregnancy and
no financial compensation. An
childbirths?
unemployed person might not
meet his obligations which will be
Probably, you would say that this an
the cause of different problems
exaggeration but according to the
such as inability to pay debts and
world health organization severe
financial obligations resulting to
bleeding, infections, unsafe abortions,
stress, illness, lost self-esteem and
hypertension, and obstructed labor are
the main causes of these deaths. In
additions, more than 90 of the
reported deaths occur in Asia and sub-
Saharan Africa. Ironically, most of
these causes can be prevented at a
small cost. But why do you think these
incidents happen if they can be
prevented? And what is the state of
maternal health in the Philippines?
In 2003, the department of health
reported that 45.1 of the maternal
deaths were brought about by the
aforementioned causes. Pregnancy
and childbirth does not only concern
the mother, but the baby as well.
This includes the 42.4 of Filipino
babies, who suffer from poor maternal
health and nutrition, inadequate care
during pregnancy and delivery, lack of
essential care for the newborn baby,
infections, birth injury, * asphyxia, and
problems relating to premature births.
 a condition in which an extreme
decrease in the amount of
oxygen in the body
accompanied by an increase of
carbon dioxide leads to loss of
consciousness or death.
A. Reproduction Health
Before we discuss the reproductive
health and population development act
of 2008, let us first get acquainted
with the concept of reproductive
health. reproductive health refers to
the state of physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity, in all matters
relating to the reproductive system
and to its functions and processes.
This implies that people are able to
have a satisfying and safe sex life that
they have the capability to reproduce
and the freedom to decide if, when
and how often to do so, provided that
these are not against the law.
Now that we know what reproductive
health is, let’s find out more about the
proposed reproductive health bill.
You may be aware on the growing
debate regarding the proposed
reproductive health and population
development act of 2008. this bill aims
to grant public funding to family
planning methods using artificial
contraceptives and sex education for
students. It also gives access to
reproductive health information to
avoid unwanted and untimely
pregnancies ant to limit the country’s
population.
On the other hand, the Catholic church
strongly opposed the bill and deemed
that artificial contraceptives as anti-life
and immoral. According to the
teachings of the church, married
couples should practice only natural
family planning methods, which
require sexual abstinence when the
woman is ovulating. In addition, the
church stressed that instead of
allocating funds to family planning
methods, the government should
provide funding to medical services to
improve the reproductive health of
Filipinos.
Maybe you are asking yourself, “how
will this the proposed bill affect me or
other young Filipinos?” well, one of the
provisions of this bill is to intensify sex
education in the school curriculum.
The program will start in the grade five
level up to fourth year high school.
Before the reproductive health bill was
filed, a study was done by the
University of the Philippines Population
Institute in 2002. the study revealed
that around 3.5 percent of all the
elementary students are already
sexually active and that premarital sex
among adolescents increased to 27
percent in 2002 when they comprised
15.1 million or 20 percent of the
population from 20 percent in 1994.
These days, it is not surprising that
there is a growing number of Filipino
youth who becomes sexually active at
an early age.
Total elementary involved in 2002
96.62 percent
Sexually active 3.38 percent
One of the factors that caused the
aforementioned circumstances is
media and technology. Media and
technology plays a major part in the
sex education of young Filipinos.
“you see, even six- or seven-year-old
kids can now read and they could buy
tabloids[where they could get
information about sex]. You can even
get information about sex through text
[messaging] on the cell phone.”
- Catalina Macaurog
- Commission
representing women
Consequently, sex education is to be
promulgated in the school curriculum
to ensure that children will be oriented
properly through the guidance of the
teacher. As a Filipino youth, what do
you think of this issue? Do you believe
that this bill will solve these problems?
If you were given the opportunity, how
would you resolve the current health
related problems?
B. Drug Abuse
Abuse of dangerous drugs is often
the cause of so many crimes in our
country. * drugs per se are not
dangerous if they are taken in
moderation and with the approval
and guidance of a certified health
practitioner
A person who abuses drugs may
not realize that he or she has a
problem. Family member’s often
bring the abuse to the attention of
a health care provider.
Unfortunately, some people who
abuse drugs only realize they have
a problem after they have been
arrested for a drug-related
problem.
Drugs- refers to legal drugs which
are natural or synthetic substance
which when taken into a living
body affects its functioning or
structure, and is used in the
diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, or
prevention or a disease or relief of
discomfort.
These are many reasons for drug
abuse, including calming or
exciting effects, escape from
reality, search for awareness and
mysticism, masking pain, blunting
anxiety, fighting depression,
escaping mental or physical
deficits, lightening other burdens,
improving performances, etc.
Other reasons of drug abuse:
They take it because of
psychological disorders
Other people think that drugs can
solve problems
There is a widespread and easy
access to various kinds of drugs.
Some do it because of peer
pressure
The notion that drugs give
enjoyment to users in the context
that it is used as an alcohol
substitute.
LESSON 3 ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
In 2008, Philippines natural
treasures namely tubbataha reef
and Puerto princesa subterranean
river natural park both in palawan
the chocolate hills in bohol, and the
mayon volcano in bicol are hoping
to belong to the prestigious list of
the new 7 wonders of the world but
sadly not many Filipinos are not
able to appreciate the beauty of
our country. Our national hero, Dr.
Jose Rizal once depicted Philippines
as the pearl of the orient. But what
happened after generations that
made us think otherwise?
How is our country today?
Environmental degradation is one
the unsolved issue not only here in
the Philippines, but all over the
world. Nowadays, access to safe
food, clean water and fresh air is
not as easy as it used to be.
In this lesson, you are given the
opportunity to take a look at some
of the prevailing problems of the
environment. As you start with this
module, I challenge you to take a
little try to ponder for possible
solutions.
A. Pollution
Wala ka bang napapansin sa iyong
mga kapaligiran ?kay dumi na ng
hangin, pati na ang mga ilog natin.
Ang mga duming ating ikinalat sa
hangin sa langit huwag na nating
paabutin upang kung tayo’y
 pumanaw man, sariwang hangin sa
langit natin matitikman
One way or another, we all experience
pollution. How many students
complain about their white uniforms
turning into dirty white before they
even reach their classes? How many
incidents of red tide poisoning have
been reported in the news? How many
people are suffering from respiratory
disease caused by unclean air?
These are just some of the issues we
have deal with everyday and unless
we do not do something about it, soon
it will be all be too late.
World bank warned in their recent
study that there is possible water
scarcity in our country by 2025 around
1.4 billion people will not have access
to safe water. In addition, seven
million die yearly due to water-borne
diseases. 2.2 million of which are
under five years of age. With these
figures, one may wonder where the
water has gone when in fact 70 of the
planet is composed of water. But,
unfortunately, of this volume, only 2.5
is fresh water; the rest is salt water.
Three quarters of this freshwater is
trapped in the form of ice and snow,
and the measly one-fourth is what we
use in our industries, agriculture,
households, etc.
With little water resources, the
situation was aggravated by
modernization, population growth and
urbanization. These factors contribute
not only to growing problem of water
pollution but land and air. As a result,
people die prematurely due to
exposure to pollution.
Domestic wastes comprise greatly the
mass of the pollutants everyday. From
food leftovers to used household items
are polluting the world.. Land pollution
is caused by improper waste disposal
and weak recycling practices and
these wastes got o landfills. But
landfills are not the solution to the
growing problem of waste disposal.
Every year, millions acres of land is
lost because of landfills. In addition,
landfills pollute the air, alongside with
the emissions of the fuel burned by
vehicles and factories.
Different advocacies were launched to
prevent our environment from
deteriorating quickly, but as long as
the government will not be vigilant in
implementing environmental laws and
the people will not take conscious
efforts to take care of our
environment, soon our beautiful
natural wonders will be remembered
through post cards only. You can do
something today to prevent this. You
can conserve electricity or go on a
carpool with your friends, so that
something will be left for the future
generations.
B. Deforestation
Forest cover as percentage of land
area. The destruction of Philippine
forests has been described as the most
rapid and most massive in the world.
This represents the forest are of our
country in given period of time. The
green part represents our forest areas
and how rapidly it has deteriorated
over the years. It is saddening that in a
couple of years; only 6 of the
Philippines land area will be covered
by forests. No wonder we are
experiencing mudslides, abnormal
weather patterns and extinction wild
life. According to a study of
deforestation in the Philippines at 1.4
percent from 1990 to 2000, the
highest among asian countries making
deforestation in Philippines the worst
in Asia. Why does this practice thrive
in our society? One of the reasons is
corruption. It is reported that
corruption is behind the massive
deforestation in our country.
Isn’t that our government should be
the one leading the people towards
environmental preservation instead
the people towards environmental
preservation instead of favoring few
greedy and powerful men in exchange
for money or other favors?
As future leaders, we must take step
towards improving and protecting our
environment. As a part of the nstp
program, you are provided with
opportunity to help out in battling
against forest degradation through the
tree planting activity. Can you think of
other ways on how we can preserve
our environment?
C. Illegal trade of wild life
the international wildlife trade
supplies both the domestic and
international markets. Wildlife is
traded, both legally and illegally,
for a number of reasons, the main
ones being for food, consumption,
traditional medicines, pets,
trophies and decorative purposes,
and zoos and
Collections.
Here in the Philippines smuggled
exotic animals make way through
ro-ro from our neighboring Asian
countries such as Malaysia and
Indonesia to Mindanao. These
shipments either end up in public
markets like in cartimat in pasay
city or arranque in manila or are
shipped again to Thailand.
One solution is to not patronize
these merchandises or any by-
product of these animals, you are
not saving these animals, but also
maintaining the balance of our eco-
system.
Frightening facts
Illegal trade in wildlife is second
only to the illegal drugs trade in
value, recently overtaking arms.
The ivory trade in the 20th century
caused the African elephant
population to fall by 10 million
between 1900 and 1989.
Up to 9 out of 10 birds caught from
the wild for the pet trade die before
they reach their destination.
Every year, an area of rainforest
the size of the British Isles is
destroyed, this is largely to fuel the
demand for the trade in tropical
wood. An estimated 50,000 other
plant and animal species, many of
which have not even been
discovered by mankind, are lost.
Animals in trade are subjected to
stresses so great that they can
result in death during all stages of
capture and transport, even weeks
after arrival.
LESSON 4 EDUCATION
Introduction
Do you know that under the 2008
national budget for education, in
particular, around P200 billion was
allocated for education, including
the allocation for state colleges and
universities and the DepEd school
building program?
The government believes that
education is a core value of
Philippine society and family life
then belief that education is the
foundation of economic prosperity
and individual liberty, social justice
and self-worth.
“no other issue is as important to
Filipinos as the opportunity
education affords the generation to
be liberated from poverty and live
a life of hope, optimism and
prosperity”
-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Can our government sustain the
needs of education in our country?
Highest education attainment
According to DepEd, only 58 for
every 100 students who went to
grade 1 reached high school and
only 14 students are able to finish
college. In the year 2004, in the
study of United Nations
Educational, scientific and cultural
organization UNESCO commission
in the Philippines, only 22 enter 1st
year college and finish college.
Mode of travel to school
The children s mode of travel to
school show that more than half of
the students aged 6 to 24 years
went to school by walking. Tricycle
and jeepney were also commonly
used as means of transportation.
Two out of five students either took
a tricycle or a jeepney.
Reasons for not attending school
Of the 34 million populations aged
6-24, 34 percent or 11.6 million
were not attending school. Of this
number, 30 percent were not
attending school mainly because
they were working or looking for
work, 22 percent lacked interest in
going to school and 20 percent
could not afford high cost of
education.
 A. Literacy information in the
Philippines
Basic of simple literacy
Of the estimated 62 million
Filipinos 10 years old and over,
around 93 percent were basically
literate. Basic or simple literacy is
the ability of a person to read and
write with understanding a simple
message in any language or
dialect. The basic literacy rate in
2003 is similar to the 1994 rate of
94 percent. The basic literacy rate
among females {94.3 percent} is
higher compared to their male
counterpart [92.6 percent].
B. picturing the state of
education
upon looking at the present
situation in our country, there are
challenges that face the entire
nation. Shortages in chairs, electric
fans, classrooms and teachers,
among others, seem to be common
media fodder come the first
Monday of june when classes open.
Such problems have become
common since nothing much has
been done to solve them through
the years.
Literacy is one of the critical
components of human development; it
becomes the foundation upon which all
learning throughout life is based. It
provides the means for greater
participation in all spheres of society.
Low levels of literacy can limit
individuals ability to take part in
decision-making and thus making it
difficult for them to exercise their
fundamental citizenship rights.
Moreover, because the outcomes of
one generation affect the opportunities
of the next, care must be taken to
ensure that children have sufficient
and equitable access to literacy-
enhancing experiences, regardless of
their socio-economic background, in
order to prevent sowing the seeds of
social exclusion at an early age.
Through the University’s national
service training program, the literacy
training service is designed to train
students to become teachers of
literacy and numeracy skills to school
children, out of school youth and other
segments of the society in need of
service our little way of helping the
needs of the community for quality
education.
LESSON 5 GOVERNANCE
Introduction
Politics has its originated from the
Greek work polis which refers to city
state. Polites referred to citizens
involved in the affairs of the sate and
overtime, anything that concerns that
state was would be derivative from
polis. Nowadays, politics generally
refers to the process by which groups
of people make decisions; it also the
art or science of government or
governing, especially the governing of
a political entity, such as a nation, and
the administration and control of its
internal and external affairs, while
governance is the continuous exercise
of authority over a political unit:
administration, control, direction,
government, and rule.
But how can we differentiate
governance and politics?
Politics involves processes by which a
group of people with initially different
opinions or interests arrive at common
decisions usually regarded as
compulsory on the group, and
enforced as common policy.
Governance, on the other hand,
suggests the administrative and
process-oriented elements of
governing rather than its aggressive
ones. Contemporary governance
practice and theory sometimes
questions this distinction, premising
that both “governance” and “politics”
involve aspects of power.
A. Voters’ education program:
to responsible voting
Why should YOU vote?
Voting or suffrage is a privilege and
right given to every Filipino citizen.
More than anything else however,
it is a RESPONSIBILITY that every
Filipino is expected to fulfill in
earnest.
Upon having met the prescriptions
of the law, every citizen is entitled
to vote and cannot be deterred
from fulfilling this function. Hence,
voting is one of the filipino’s most of change we would want towards
inalienable rights. making our society a better place
“it shall be the obligation of every to live in. education is one of the
citizen qualified to vote to register most powerful instruments for
and acts his vote.” Article I; sec. reducing poverty in our country
4 omnibus election code and lays a foundation for sustained
economic growth.
By casting your vote, a Filipino LGNOTES<3 Ai Shiteru
makes himself a part of the
nation’s conscience whereby your
decisions affect the history of the
whole nation, the well-being of the
community and the fate of each
Filipino family. Therefore, by
deciding the fate and interest of
the whole nation, the Filipino is
charged with the responsibility to
promote and uphold what is
beneficial to the common good.
When a Filipino citizen chooses to
forfeit his privilege, right and
responsibility to vote, he makes
himself an apathetic bystander
amongst his people and all they
fight for in the name of true
freedom, justice and love for the
country.
Whom should YOU vote for?
A Filipino will most certainly be met
with a barrage of considerations in
choosing his candidates. There are
however, some basic
considerations that should be
taken more critically than others.

When coming up with a “line-up” of

candidates, one has to determine
certain facts before doing so. These
facts will essentially reveal the
candidates’ CHARACTER,
INTEGRITY and COMPETENCE.
Every individual and organization
has its capacity to be part of a
concerted effort to address
pressing social problems, issues
and concern ijn our country today.
An individual has the responsibility
of taking care of his environment in
order to assure the coming
generation of a healthy and safe
place to live. Meanwhile these
concerns cannot be address by
only a few: rather it should be a
concerted effort of the government
and the people to ensure the kind