BENGUET: Through the eyes of the less Fortunate!

You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life and your reward will be that you
will eat, but you will not live.

It is uncluttered that poverty among Filipinos is one of the large scale problems that the countries government is facing. It is indeed the mother of revolution and crime. However, the veracity is that Philippines traumatic political practice of graft and corruption is the strongest foundation of poverty which continuously maintains our status as a third world country.

In the countryside, specifically, in the mountains of Benguet, It is undeniable that the municipalities in this province are some of the remaining least undeveloped municipality in the
country. In the film “Ang Daan Patungong Kalimugtong” it disclosed the genuine facet of how people live their lives on top of the mountains. We might be discerning that Mountains are approximately an inch away from heaven since it is covered by the lovely clouds and cold precipitations in spite of this the authentic situation is divergent from what we have in our minds that beyond the mountains covered by clouds are different forms of suffering.

It should be noted that Philippines, specifically In Benguet, the government should focus on the PROPER education amongst the aspiring youths of the cordillera. The youth sectors in the cordilleran community are raw human resources who need to undergo a PROPER nourishment. If we are to remark the maxim of the country’s national hero “ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan” then it is right and proper for us to provide substantial knowledge through sufficient formal education. At times it is indeed true that hope fades away if trust among our countrymen also fades. Although inside the restricted walls of an institution who gives wisdom to the young, it
is the elders who guides those who are younger- we then could say that it is not only the youth who gives a higher chance for this country to be revived but the elder takes a bigger part of the transitional change that we must go through to prosper and advance.

Relatively, we can say that poor public administration in remote areas sometimes causes a minimal access to having a more flourished society. It is clearly documented that in certain areas of Benguet, the underdevelopment of a specific municipality causes ignorance among all the members of that community. Only a few in that area gains an ample amount of knowledge and abundant-bountiful lifestyle. It is saddening to view the genuineness of the condition of our fellow Filipinos in Benguet. They are certainly helpless but what does do this government do to uplift and save the rich culture of cordillera from being ignorant with how the world below the mountains prosper. When will the government curtail the ordeal of the cordillerans?

The innocence, smile, and laughter of cordilleran children as shown in the film tells different stories but more often than not it portraits suffering and struggle. Some of us might take their
situation as an alluring or eye-catching scenario. Astonishingly, they are happy when they are given the simplest food or dress that we might posses or be eating in a day or week. Sardines, Junk food, Shrimp Paste (bagoong), and Ketchup (catsup)-to name a few, these are some of the things that we are belittling but for them these gives them happiness. Yes, this is the extensiveness of how poverty lives through the mountains.

Despite a difficult situation amidst Benguet, the youngest member of this province extends their hands and horizons for a vision of a brighter future. The fire within them keeps on burning as long as they have every means or opportunity to change their lives in a better way. The hope of every youth in the cordillera invigorates the province of Benguet. This is how it was shown on the latter part of the film. It might be idealistic for some but reiterating the concept of optimism,
it explains the continuous existence of the never ending dreams of young Jinky and PotPot.

It might be hard to admit the bitter realities in the zones of cordillera that there are no enough food, no proper education, no enough job to earn but if we willingly accept this facts without doing any positivist act (at least in our own little ways) we can again claim that we are accurately maintain an apathetic reaction towards socio-political issues covering the country.

The film was not only produced and created to generate money but I firmly believe that this film was created to awaken the extinct “diwa ng mga Filipino”. The film serves as a challenge to
both the government and to us (people). We are in one nation, under one government, and one race before anyone else helps us-it is right and proper for us to unite despite the existing diversities among us-this would probably mark the unending battle cry for progress.

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings."


*note this article was submitted for Atty. Lawana's Class in Public Administration and Management*


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