12 Little Things every Filipino

can do to help our Country

1. Follow traffic rules. Follow the law

• Obeying traffic rules was listed as the first thing that we

should do because it is the simplest law in our country.
• If we could learn to obey them, it could be the lowest form
of National discipline that we could develop.
• Since it doesn’t have any monetary cost, it could be easier
for us to do. For discipline is like a ladder; before we can
reach the top, we shall start at the bottom.
2. Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an Official
Receipt
• Whenever we buy or pay something, tax is already included in it.
Under the law, the seller (as the tax-paying agent) is obligated to
remit that tax to the government.

• So next time you’ll pay or buy something, ask for an Official

Receipt of it because the seller may or may not remit its tax.

• Since there is no official record of the transaction and the

government has no means to track it, the tax that you paid for the
product that you purchased could be pocketed by the seller.
3.Do not buy smuggled goods. Buy Local.
• When imported good are smuggled into our country, our government cannot be
able to impose and collect taxes on it (customs duties, tariffs, and the 10% VAT)
and as a result, smugglers would be able to sell these in markets at very cheap
prices.
• We, buyers were often tempted to buy them, which is why no one buys the more
expensive local products - killing the local companies and industries and results to
laying off of workers and eventually higher unemployment level.
• Smuggling is a crime; there are two things that we can do to lesson/stop
smuggling in our country. First, we should stop patronizing smuggled products.
Second, if we get to know some smuggling activities, we should have the courage
to report it to the authorities.
4.When You Talk to Others, Especially Foreigners; Speak Positively on
Our Race and Country

• Let us all believe that unity is higher and more important than
individuality-
• We should make a conscious effort to stop that self-bashing and
self-flagellation, we should stop telling “horror stories” about
ourselves to foreigners. Instead, we should start focusing on the
positive aspects of our country.
5. Respect Traffic officer, Police Officer, and other Public
Servants

• One thing that we should learn is that respect- honors, it empowers and dignifies.
• It makes one honorable and at the same time, courtesy is a good manner that sees
the value and dignity of others.
• Another way of showing respect to them is by not offering them any bribe money.
If we will look at our public servants with respect, they will also return that to us.
• If we give them a pat in the back for a job well done, it will motivate them to exert
more effort to perform their duties and responsibilities.
6.Do not Litter. Dispose your trash properly. Segregate,
Recycle, Conserve.

• We are part of our environment, we, human beings and the environment
were linked to each other in a powerful sense.
• Our acts affect our environment and nature, although slowly and
imperceptibly.
• But when nature reacts, it could affect all of us- in devastating ways such as
typhoons, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, fuel shortage, water supply and
food chain degradation, skin cancer and global warming due to the
depletion of the ozone layer.
7.Support your Church

What if all of us will donate 1% of our net earnings to our respective churches?

• If we will do this, our churches will be empowered and will have enough resources to
help the poor and neglected in our society.

• God loves us so much that when he gave us our lives, he also gave us the freedom and
the choice how to live our lives.

• Some religious organizations were collecting funds to help some of the less fortunate in
our country and by simply donating, we can be part of their good deeds.
8.During Elections, Do your Solemn Duty

• Honesty, more than a master’s or doctorate degree, is what gives credibility.

• It is also essential, since it is every leader’s link to the people. It is what makes the people look to only one
direction and perform a uniform act.
• In short, credibility is what makes people follow the leader. Our constitution gives one of us the right to elect
our leader. In fact, our right to vote is defined under the constitution as a solemn duty of every citizen of our
country.
• This is one of the very few instances in the constitution where we, citizens, are reminded of our solemn duty
to our country. It is not there for nothing, it is there because it is as it should be, a serious obligation.
• If we have bad leaders today and in the past, it is not the fault of the many who know less, but the fault of the
few who know more but who did nothing or who didn’t do enough. Comelec records show this. In electoral
precincts of rich communities, the voter’s turn-out is always dismal, while in the precincts of squatter
communities, the voter’s turn out is astronomically high.
9.Pay your Employees Well
Part of being fair to them is by paying them what is due, or what they deserve.
In fact, the way we pay our employees or the people who serve us is the way we love, respect and
treasure them.
• But there is another reason why we should pay them well, practically everyday we hear news about
Filipinos abroad being abused or depressed from their work.
• Clearly, this is a time when all of us Filipinos must take an active role in helping our country.
• This is a time when all of us must do our share in helping our government, in building our nation and
paying our employees well is one such way. It is an act of patriotism, within our means.
• A good salary can go a long way, it means a good future for their children, our youth, our nation’s
future.
• If you are wealthy now or in the future, you must help our country by sharing your fortune with
other Filipinos, especially those in need.
• Invest in our country instead of somewhere else, and pay your employees well.
10. Pay your Taxes
• Paying taxes is one of the most crucial. Because taxes are the lifeblood of our government, of our
nation.
• It is what we are to buy the basic textbooks for our millions of children in the country, or to build
additional classrooms in public schools nationwide. It is what we use to buy the most basic of
medicines, often generic and cheap and also it is what we use to pay all our government employees
nationwide- our soldiers, police officers, public school teachers, and many others.
• The taxes that we pay for are actually not lost or wasted completely. A substantial portion of the taxes
we pay is still put to good use. Because there are many public servants -who still do their jobs
properly.
• This means that our government will have more funds to perform its duties and obligations to the
public. As an alternative, you may also want to consider giving donations to duly accredited charitable
institutions or NGOs like Caritas, Unicef, and Pondo ng Pinoy. Your donations to said institutions are
tax-deductible and will go to social services of your choice.
11. Adopt a Scholar or Adopt a Poor Child
There are two kinds of adoption; you may adopt a poor child as a scholar. Or you may adopt a total stranger- as a family
member and raise a a child of your own.

• To adopt a poor child as a scholar seems to be the easier of the two. And to do this, you
need not look far. All you need to do is look within your clan, among your relatives. Sure,
you will find one relative who needs help. If you cannot find one within your clan, try to find
within your immediate circle- among the families of your house help, driver, etc;

• It does not cost much to adopt a scholar, there are good elementary and high school
that don’t cost much. Public schools are free and are really good. A scholar who gets a
good grade in high school, might even earn a scholarship to college.
12. Be a Good Parent. Teach your Kids to Follow the Law and
to Love Our Country
Every child acquires their concept of right and wrong, their definition of good and evil from
their parents. They acquire it from what they see from their parents.

• The family is the core of every society, the foundation of every nation.

• If we teach our children to listen to each other, they will someday know how to listen to
other people in our society. If we teach them to respect each other’s views, they will
someday know how to respect other people’s views.

• If we teach them to sacrifice for one another and for the family, they will someday know
how to sacrifice for the country and for the common good of our people.
 • If we teach them to be united in small things and in big things, they will someday
know how to act in unity as one nation, and lastly if we discipliner them to follow our
house rules, they will likely know how to follow the rules and laws in our society.

• There’s so much problem in our nation such as- lack of love for country, lack of unity,
lack of respect for the law, lack of respect for others, among many others- begin at
home, with what to show and teach to children.

• It is in the family where a child learns to be respectful and grateful. It is there where
they learn to say “please”, “sorry”, “excuse me” and “thank you” it is also in the family
where a child learns that to lie, cheat and steal are wrong and that to condone any of
it is equally wrong.

• Given the present state of our nation, with so many problems that we don’t know
where to begin to solve them, the youth is always a good starting point.

• They are the future; their minds and their hearts will shape and color the future.
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