Sa Kambas ng Lipunan

‘Kahirapan’ or poverty is evident to the documentary film of

Joey Velasco entitled as “Kambas ng Lipunan”. He painted “Hapag ng

Pag-asa” (Table of Hope) which portrayed by the twelve different
children in different places with different smiles but faces the
same difficulty of being in a state of poverty.
“Araw-araw ko naman silang nakikita, pero hindi ko lang sila
napapansin dahil napakaordinaryo nila...dahil ako pala ang nasanay na
sa kanilang kahirapan.” As Joey mentioned this phrases I quietly
questioned myself ‘did I really see their situation as a normal? Or I
am just too blind to address their situation as a major problem to
settle or at least lessen their situation? Or maybe I am a selfish
human who does not care to see and to sympathize with them?’. This
question lingered in my thoughts as I am watching the film and even
in my next subjects. And as I answered those questions, I realized
that all those three questions are my behaviors/characters that lead
me to be a blind Pilipino. Joey’s phrases is an eye opener to fully
widen my thoughts on how the society works beyond those statistical
tools that the government report every year to their SONA.
One of the characters from the film that live an impact to me
is the story of Itok Garganera. Joey described him as a genius but
the term is defined in a different way. Genius in a way to be a
thief, always having a spare of hair pin to used for breaking the
padlocks. Itok is also a math wizard and might be a talented gymnast
but those attributes might not be used in good manner because of his
situation. He is hungry for food and definitely hungry to survive.
His situation push him and might mold him to be someone that can be
worst that will lead him to kill someone just to survive. His
situation can be abated if and only if the society will not oppress
him to have the benefit of being a child and a human. A benefit to
have a comfortable life wherein he can play, have friends and attend
school.

As I see and experienced the state of being in poverty I must

say that the government is at stake for having this kind of helpless
situation. Lack of enhancement for human capital that causes the
country to have a low skilled and knowledgeable citizens. Enhancement
of human capital might be one solution to address poverty. Having a
better foundation for the people can give a better situation and can
also lessen the poverty rate. Increasing human capital might be the
solution for Itok to stop his works. Government guidance is a big
impact to build the future of each child. Their guidance serve as
the foundation of every individual to properly execute their dreams
and goals in life.