The reality of poverty, for most of our brothers and sisters follow them to their death — as is the case with Mang Pandoy — the man showcased in the SONA (State of the Nation Address) by then President Fidel V. Ramos as a representative of the poor whose lives he aims to improve. Many years after that, the man born poor died poor. If you find it too harsh a word, I’m pretty sure there’s a more politically-correct term for that. Underprivileged? Less fortunate? Economically-challenged? Gah. Does it matter how we call it? Apparently, it does not. For if we examine closely, “terms” don’t change a reality. Is there anything more glaring than the reality of your family’s incapacity to even give you a proper burial? My friends, Mang Pandoy lies “clad in a faded violet shirt, laid in an ordinary wooden coffin“. His death is no poorer than the life he lived. The man clearly died “waiting on the world to change” — waiting on his economic status to at least change from bad to fair. He died waiting for a chance at a better life. Continue Reading

Year 2007 — it was all about the environment.

This year — 2008 — it’s time to talk about POVERTY.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Coming from an impoverished country of 90 million people, living with highly-talented, young and promising citizens, I urge you all, people of the web — the so-called “netizens” Continue Reading