Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Urdaneta City Campus

Activity
LIT 1: Society and Literature

Name: Course, Year, and Section:

I. Read the essay, Why We are so Poor, by Francisco Sionil Jose critically and answer the following
questions: (Minimum of 10 sentences each item)

1. List down the reasons why Filipinos are said to be poor in the essay.

The reason why are said to be poor in the essay is because of the poor culture we have built
ourselves. The first reason is because we are lazy. Filipinos tend to have an attitude of blaming
others while we, ourselves, do nothing about their current situation. There is also the “mañana
habit” in which we leave everything up to fate or other supernatural enities, waiting for a miracle
instead of working and making it happen. Second is that we are “show-offs.” Filipinos incline to
live an extravagant life, we spend money on the things that we don’t need just to have
something to boast abuot. The “Yabang” in every Filipino hinders our reasoning, choosing
status symbols over saving ourselves from poverty. The last reason from the essay says that
Filipinos are poor because our nationalism is inward looking. We condone inefficiency in both
the entrepreneur and political world. We did not pursue the Agrarian reform which could have
changed the rural areas and lifted labourers from poverty. We are poor because incompetency
is embedded in our culture, not just the people that governs us but also the people being
governed. We are poor because we are poor, we are poor because we are Filipinos.

2. Describe the current situation of the Philippines dealing with poverty.

The Philippines’ fight against poverty has been going on for a long time. Despite the growing
economy in the recent years, lots of Filipinos remain poor. These factors include: low income;
lack of decent work; poor education; inadequate nutrition and poor health. Inequality is severe
and undermines development. The laws made by the government always seem to side with the
rich and the disparity of the privilege between the rich and the poor remains huge. Specially now
as we face today’s crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipinos who are facing poverty is having a
really hard time. COVID-19 has affected day to day life and is slowing down the economy,
unemployment rate has increases as business has closed, disruption of healthcare, and the
social community has been interrupted. Even educational system is now favouring the rich even
more as it requires a lot of needs in order to be properly accomplished. The Philippines today is
having an even harder time in facing poverty, as situations in need to be solved has arised. It
faces a challenge of preventing a crisis from growing even more while trying to provide for those
in need.

3. What is the suggested solution of F. SIonil Jose to alleviate poverty? How will you contribute to
this solution for the society?

In order to alleviate poverty in the Philippines F, Sionil Jose suggested two possible solutions.
The first is to have a nationalist revolution, a continuation of the revolution in 1896. A profound
way to induce change without violence is a revolution. A exercise of democracy in which the
people to change inequities in our society, a chance for a fresh start. The other solution is
through education, a better and more extensive one. Educated citizens that are a part of a
democratic country can largely impact its economy, as a more knowledgeable community
interacts with each other and helps in various ways to improve everything about our country.
 Education liberates poverty, a better educational system helps give citizens more opportunities.
The only problem is that it may take so long and by the time conditions have changed, we may
be back where we were, caught up with this tremendous population. But neither education nor
revolution can succeed if we do not internalize new attitudes, new ways of thinking. F. Sionil
Jose believes that in order for these solutions to happen we must change the way we think and
the way we act.

4. What is your realization after reading the essay?

As the Philippines is known for an corrupt government the essay gave me a different view of
what needs to be done for us to win the fight against poverty. The essay pointed out that our
culture has a lot to do with what is happening in our country. The realization I had after reading
the essay was that Filipinos are poor because incompetency is embedded in our culture. Not
just those that govern us but also the people being governed are to be blamed for the country’s
decline. If we are to rise from the slump we are in today, we should remove the toxicity and
incompetency in our culture, instead of whining and wasting time we should strive as citizens.
We should accost those who are in position to do as they are meant to be. Everyone has a role
to play for the Philippines to regain its glory, the people has the power to make our nation
flourish. The most important realization that the essay gave me is that education cannot be
overly stressed when it comes to the betterment of our country. An improvement in our
educational system may as well be the best solution for poverty. Education lessens the
challenges faced by the country. The more knowledge everyone gains the more opportunities
will open up to allow the Philippines as a whole to develop.