We must agree that service to others should actually done with or without legislation?

(NSTP Law RA 9163), but

why? Why do we need to serve the poor, the marginalized, the powerless and voiceless in our society? Elaborate
your answer and use your personal experience

Being a Filipino youth, who has witnessed the many sufferings of my fellow Filipinos, I believe that we as
human beings are all created equal in the eyes of God. Service to others is important and must be done with our
own will because it is our responsibility as someone who is more privileged. It is somewhat our part and
contribution in our society. Also, helping others brings happiness and self-satisfaction to us which money couldn’t
buy. Therefore, by starting with ourselves, we are spreading positivity and creating a norm that helping others
doesn’t take much from us. We, as humans must prove that humans are getting better in bringing humanity that
was deemed as lost. Sharing hardships with one another is better than enjoying luxuries alone. In my personal
experience, helping others was not natural to me. I treated it more like a chore. However, on the day of my
birthday I was able to share my joy with someone who is unprivileged. The smile that the child and her mother
gave me was way more than what I gave her which was only a balloon. That insightful experience was enough to
break the barriers that was holding me from helping. It was like a disease spreading—the happiness from their
eyes to my own, I wonder how people will be if more people would be just like that. Just helping, no complaining.
Helping others is more than just giving them material things. It involves the heart, the willingness of the heart that
must be acknowledged by everyone. Giving love and making them feel loved is a responsibility that we must all
treasure.

1. What was his central message for the youth? Kindly explain and integrate your answer on
the conditions of our society and the youth?
The pope had emphasized several points in his speech, but his message for the
youth is to be the young people of this generation that is wise, knows how to weep for
others, love others and as well as receive love from others and also knows how to beg.
With the current situation of our society, where there are a lot of people suffering from
poverty and discrimination; to be part of the youth means I have to play my role in this
society. The youth have so much potential in raising up and changing the current status
of the country. But young people like me should learn to know the sufferings of others
and empathize with them. On the other hand, the youth’s potential can be overthrown if
the information they have is not used properly as what the pope has said. He
particularly mentioned that the society needs wise and holy young people not museums
of information but not knowing what to do with it. Also, he challenged us to let
ourselves be loved. It is easy for us to love but not to allow others to love us. As a
frequent user of different social media sites, I have seen viral posts that particularly
prompts the use of the word ‘marupok’ which basically means that someone who easily
gives love. This clearly demonstrates how Filipino youth are today, we easily give love
to others. However, we find it hard to let ourselves be loved which is very demeaning.
It creates uncertainty in relationships between people that leaves gaps that might not be
able to be fixed. Letting God love us is the greatest thing man could ever receive. That
is why a lot of people in the society today doesn’t have good lives because they reject
the love that Jesus openly gives them. The last point he mentioned for the youth is the
practice of begging. He wants us to receive with humility from others. This can be easy
but in reality, people are struggling to practice humility through begging. They find it
hard to ask help from others especially the poor. People nowadays think that they have
 gone too far up that the only role they have is to give to the poor not knowing that it
also takes humility to genuinely give to others. The current society is full of people
with the wrong mindset and attitude which even promotes an unequal and unhappy
society. Everything the pope mentioned in his speech are often the ones mostly ignored
by people nowadays. People are too much busy helping others that they forget the true
essence and meaning of helping. Everyone must learn to practice God’s ways and put it
into heart always.

2. How this message helps us to understand the meaning of the word “compassion” in the
context of serving the poor, oppressed and needy.
In serving the underprivileged of the society, we need to have compassion. His
message points out that compassion is the key in order to help others. He practically explained
the complexity of compassion in the current society by allowing people to learn the concept of
loving and begging because compassion grows in us by learning how to put ourselves in the
shoes of those people in need. If we empathize with them, there is a tendency to build a heart
and mind that is full of compassion. The pope also referred to the story of St. Matthew whom
received love because Jesus was compassionate enough to let him feel that he is loved. The
genuineness of our act is based on how we understand the situation of others and putting
compassion as our dominant emotion in the face of these.
3. A response to his call, what are the concrete steps you will make to eliminate the problems
of social injustices and social inequality in our society?
First, I would have to fix my mindset and attitude towards helping. There is a huge
difference between helping with a full heart as compared with helping with a heavy heart.
Second, I would voice out my stand in social issues especially those that involve people
who are experiencing social injustices. People from this sector could be the Lumads, by
integrating with them in the various NSTP activities, I would allow myself to be an
instrument that voices out their opinions. Using social media, I could let my fellow
Filipinos know about the modern social injustices. Third, I would be a helping people who
are tied into poverty by participating into NSTP activities and engaging into social work
that focuses in alleviating their current situation. Donating goods can be done too but
interacting with them could be more fruitful. There are a lot of ways in eliminating these
problems but people need to learn that we must know how to work hand in hand in facing
these social issues.

1. Bakit kaya mayroong usapang pangkapayapaan? Maaring magsaliksik hinggil dito sa iba pang
news articles, research publication? Maaring ang maging gabay natin ay katagang Just Peace:
Addressing the Roots of Armed Conflict.
Ayon sa aking mga nasaliksik, nagkakaroon ng mga usapang pangkapayapaan o peace talks
upang tapusin ang mga armadong tunggalian na nagaganap sa pagitan ng mga komunistang grupo
at ang pwersa ng gobeyerno. Naglalayon itong lutasin ang pinaguugatan ng hindi pagkakasundong
ito. Ito ay ang pag-iibayo ng kapayapaan sa bansa sa pamamagitan ng pakikipagsundo sa mga
grupong kasangkot.
 2. Batay sa mga nasaliksik, Ano ang dahilan o ugat ng armed conflict o digmaang bayan? Ano
ang ibig sabihin ng kapayapaan na nakabatay sa katarungan o Just Peace?
Nagkakaroon ng mga hindi pagkakasundong ito o mga digmaan dahil sa kahirapan, kawalan
ng soberanya, kawalan ng tunay na pag-unlad, pang-aapi at pagsasamantala. Sa aking palagay, ang
kapayapaan ay makakamit lamang kung mayroong katarungan sa lipunan. Hindi magkakaroon ng
kaguluhan kung ang bawat isa ay may pantay-pantay na natatamo mula sa kanyang lipunan. Ang
kapayapaan ay may kaakibat na respeto sa karapatan ng bawat isa.
3. Kung naging matagumpay ang Peace Talks ano na magiging epekto nito partikular sa mga
magsasaka, manggagawa at iba pang marginalized na sektor ng lipunang Pilipino.
Kung magiging matagumpay ang peace talks, ang kapayapaan ang mamayani sa bansa. Ito
ay magdudulot ng kaginhawaan sa lipunang Pilipino lalo na sa mga magsasaka at mga
mangagawa dahil ang mga digmaang nagyayari ay nakaaapekto sa kanilang paghahanap-
buhay. Ang mga ordinaryong mamamayan ang naiipit sa mga digmaang ito.
4. Sa kabuuan, bakit kailangang ipagpatuloy ang usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng CPP-NPA-
NDFP at ng GRP? Ano ang kahalagahan nito sa iyo, buhay ng ordinaryong mamamayang Pilipino at sa
ating bayan?
Sa pagpapatuloy ng mga usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng mga komunistang grupo
at ng gobyerno, mailalatag lahat ng mga problema at isyung nararanasan ng mga mamamayan
sa isang lipunan. Dito mahahanapan ng lunas at solusyon ang mga problema sa lupa,
kabuhayan, karapatan at hanap buhay. Ito ay magsusulong ng pagbabago at makapagbibigay
ng maraming oportunidad para sa mga naapektuhan na makapagsimula ng bagong buhay. Ang
peace talks ang magiging susi sa pagkakamit ng pangmatagalang kapayapaan sa bansa na
mahalaga sa akin at sa kapwa ko Pilipino dahil magiging madali ang daloy ng pamumuhay.
Magkakaroon ng kalayaan at makakawala sa opresyon ang mga mamamayan na
makapagbibigay ng kaunlaran sa bansa.

5. Ano ang ibig sabihin ng kataga ni Albert Eistein na Peace is not absence of war but presence of social
justice. Iugnay ito sa mga kasalukuyang pangyayari sa ating bansa?
Sa pahayag na ito ni Albert Einstein, nais niyang iparating na ang kapayapaan ay hindi
lamang ang kawalan ng digmaan. Ito ay nakatali sa katarungang panlipunan. Kapag
nagpapatuloy ang mga dahilan sa pagkakaroon ng di pagkakasundo, mananatili ang kawalan
ng kapayapaan. Kung patuloy na nakararanas ng hindi makatarungang Sistema ang mga
mamamayan, hindi mawawala ang digmaan. Sa kasalukuyan nangyayari sa bansa, makikita na
may mga partikular na adhikain ang mga rebeldeng grupo na nag-uudyok sa kanila upang
magsimula ng kaguluhan. Sa kaso ng NPA o New People’s Army, sila ay naghahasik ng takot
upang sila’y makakuha ng pera mula sa mga taong kanila nagkikidnap. Ito marahil dahil sa
kahirapan na kanilang nararanasan at ito lamang ang kanilang pamamaraan upang maipakita sa
pamahalaan ang kanilang kailangan. Sa ating bansa na nakararanas, ng kawalan ng katarungan,
hindi tunay na masasabing mapayapa ang Pilipinas. May mga taong natatali sa opresyon dahil
sa kanilang mga nararanasan. Kaya’t bilang mga Pilipino tayo ay may obligasyon na
panatilihin ang kapayapaan sa pamamagitan ng pagtataguyod ng katarungan sa lipunan.