Have you seen street children begging for money? Have you seen babies carried by their mothers under the heat of the sun? Have you seen children looking for food in the garbage cans? Have you seen families live in slum areas?
Based on surveys, among the thirteen countries in Asia, Philippines ranked as the most corrupt country. According to Sanjeev Gupta, Hamid Davoodi and Rosa Alonso-Terme of IMF working paper 1998, corruption affects income inequality and poverty by reducing economic growth, the progressivity of the tax system, the level and effectiveness of social programs, and by perpetuating an unequal distribution of asset ownership and unequal access to education. The lives of the poor are the most affected because of the low income they get. Corruption has very big effect on their personal and family life. That’s why many Filipinos experience poverty. I have seen children roaming around the squatter’s area playing instead of going to school and learn. I have seen parents doing illegal things just to raise their children. I have seen mothers using their babies for begging money. We do not know the reasons behind their actions so we shouldn’t judge them.
By this time, we can’t understand the real life but when the time comes and we had our own family, we’ll know what it feels to be a parent and will do anything for our children.