Poverty is the state of not having enough money to provide

or to take care of basic needs such as food, clothing and housing.

Poverty remains the most critical social problem that needs to be
addressed. It is a very serious problem that must immediately
be dealt with in order to minimize its effects. Poverty takes a
great toll not only on the poor but also the country as a whole.
Thus, the Philippines, its government and its agencies have to
undergo major reform to fight poverty.

Poverty in the Philippines arose from the rapid population

growth in the country. Millions of Filipinos live below the poverty
line. As Philippines has limited resources and an existing high
poverty rate, the rapid increase in population has become a
problem because there are already insufficient resources to
support the population, which leaves much lesser resources to
improve the economy.

In modern times, vices are common in the Philippines like

playing cards, mahjong, smoking cigarettes, drinking day or
night even if there are no occasions, and betting on a cockfight.
Some people depend on these in making a living instead of
looking for a job but their chances always leads into nothing.

The government until today is still corrupted because of

politicians and persons in authority that forget their responsibility
to the nation to satisfy their personal interests. That is why we
also have debts in the World Bank because of them. It is pitiful
to see educated Filipinos that don’t do what they have said
during their campaigns.

Lack of quality education can also cause poverty. Families

below poverty line cannot let their children go to school. Even
the parents have no experience to wear school uniforms and
have allowance to study. They have no diplomas. They do not
wear any graduation gown in their life.

Because of lack of quality education, high unemployment

rate and job mismatching are present. In order to have a
permanent and good salary job, you must have a bachelor’s
degree. You must finish a tertiary education or at least a
vocational course. Poor people are contented picking junks and
garbage everywhere, being beggars, and searching foods in
every trash bins. Some have jobs but seasonal, and even they
are contractual workers with low salary. Is their salary can feed
their children three times a day?

The effects of it are very visible in nature. Poverty causes

many Filipinos to not pursue their education. Others seem to be
contented of their lives as poor. While others seem to work by
labor, the economy of the country is also affected in such a way
that the economic activities are too domestic in nature, and
decreasing the country's ability to make a way to international
economics. However, many foreign investors are helping
domestic laborers in terms of providing jobs locally.

The nutrition of many children in the Philippines is greatly

affected by poverty. People living beside polluted places are
affected by their improper hygiene and urban dwellers are even
more affected by their insufficient intake of healthy foods.

Poverty also affects the daily lives of the Filipinos. As much

as many Filipinos depend on luck, it is triggered by their low-
lifestyle favors and bad living conditions. People use drugs and
perform crimes as their escape to poverty. It contributes to the
high crime rate throughout the world.

There are many solutions in suppressing poverty.

Government must change and take reforms first. Government
should reform its institutions to enhance coordination, improve
efficiency and lessen corruption.
 We should improve coordination between the involved
agencies and key stakeholders as this will improve efficiency
between them.

We should improve poverty targeting, monitoring and

evaluation. There should also be increased funds for data
collection, processing and management. This will help us learn
more about poverty and help us prepare more for it. Studying
poverty will give us a better chance of avoiding it.

It is said that we should address poverty specifically per

area. So that each place receives the care it needs. Each place
is different and treating each place special may allow us to get
rid of poverty more easily by going to the cause of poverty in
those places.

The resources of the local government should be enhanced

and their coordination with the national government should be
improved. This will allow them to be able to work better and help
more in poverty.

The government should increase available resources for

social services, poverty reduction, and infrastructure. They
should also maintain price stability to shield the poor from high
food prices and they should lessen corruption and develop
infrastructure in order to boost investor confidence. This will
enable more money to go into the country while the poor are
being shielded from high prices. Giving more money and allowing
more money into the country will allow the poor to get more
help, and the boost in the economy will give them jobs as well.

Solution to suppress poverty doesn’t show immediate

result. It depends on the people below the poverty line if they
want to have an abundant life and escape poverty. So, let’s fight
poverty as one for the brighter future of our country, the
Philippines.