However, not veering away from these recent happenings, we also wish to draw attention to the continuing plight of the greater number of Filipinos who are recurrently being saddled by poverty. All the while, the people have been tied with the chains of poverty and they continue to be held helpless by this chain. They continue to struggle in the cells of destitution and one day hopes to be liberated in an escape that will become the most meaningful of all jailbreaks – their exodus from poverty.

Back in February of last year, it was recorded that 45 percent of families in the Philippines were poor. In a report written by Karin Schelzig, an Asian Development Bank poverty specialist, entitled, "Poverty in the Philippines: Income, Assets and Access" (written for the ADB’s Country Strategy and Program for the Philippines for 2004-2006), the causes of poverty in the country were listed as follows: "(1) weak macroeconomic management; (2) employment issues including unemployment, underemployment, and low wages; (3) high population growth; (4) an underperforming agriculture sector an unfinished land reform agenda; (5) governance issues including corruption and a weak state; (6) conflict and security issues, particularly in Mindanao; and (7) disability."

If we try to look at the present scenario of the nation, we will find that we are still beset by these circumstances – with the society still perpetuating the pair perils of poverty and corruption — and these factors continue to cripple the people. The World Bank had also conducted a similar study for its Country Assistance Strategy for the Philippines, and the report pointed out to poverty and corruptions as the major barriers in the people’s more positive perception of the government’s effort to fast track economic growth.

According to the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey (published January 6, 2006), "The proportion of Filipino households experiencing hunger hit an alarming 16.7 percent last quarter and ... Self-Rated Poverty rose to 57 percent." SWS’s 16.7 percent hungry Filipinos accounted for 2.8 million families who had barely anything to eat at least once in the past three months. "This is the highest national proportion recorded since SWS began surveying hunger, surpassing the previous peak of 16.1 percent in March 2001." The survey also revealed that hunger had gone highest in Mindanao at 21.7 percent, with starving Manileños trailing up at 21.0 percent.

From the same survey, it was likewise revealed that more Filipinos now view themselves as poor or "mahirap." The Self-Rated Poor in December, 2005, were at 62 percent in Mindanao (this perception perhaps partly from the continuing struggle for peace in the region), 55 percent in Balance Luzon, 56 percent in Visayas and 53 percent in Metro Manila. "The median self-rated poverty threshold, or the monthly peso budget that poor households say they need to escape poverty, was at R10,000 in Metro Manila, and R5,000 in Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Such money-value thresholds were already reached as early as six years ago, even though the cost of living rose greatly every year. The failure of the thresholds to increase despite much inflation is a sign that the poor are actually lowering their real living standards."

Poverty is an undeniably obvious truth in the country. It is being felt. It is being seen. It is becoming a national struggle. Much like the seeming unrest in the ranks of the military in the recent days, there is also much social discontent in the way the government is addressing the age-old problem of destitution. Indeed, "Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable and others extremely difficult," according to Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), British lexicographer and writer.

We cannot let hunger corrupt the minds and spirits of the people. We cannot allow poverty to become an excuse for social disarray and moral decadence. There are other families blessed with more resources and who have much to share with those in need. The Bible teaches us that "It is more blessed to give than to received" (Acts 20:35) and those who share their blessings receive a hundredfold back. We need a real jailbreak from poverty’s dungeons and cells. But this jailbreak will surely enhance national security.(Email address: myrfnt@yahoo.com)