Philippine Liberal Party blogger Jover Laurio of Pinoy Ako Blog summarized what is wrong with a lot of voters and Philippine society in general in one of her recent posts on social media site Twitter:
In her effort to paint Liberal Party Senators Bam Aquino and ally Risa Hontiveros in a good light and as “compassionate” people compared to the rest of their colleagues in the Senate, Laurio inadvertently exposed the dysfunctional behavior of some Filipinos. Laurio wasn’t even aware she was exposing her own habit of begging for money, which she obviously thinks is “normal”.
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The problem with Filipinos like Laurio is their sense of entitlement is too strong. They think the government owes them money. They also think that the politicians they voted into power are indebted to them or have an obligation to give them something back such as money, goods or services in exchange for putting them in power. Laurio was promoting this appalling behavior to her thousands of followers. She was basically telling her followers “Hey, guys! You can ask these two senators for money as long as you vote for them”. So where does Laurio think these politicians get the money they dole out to random people from? No wonder a lot of politicians are forced to dip into public funds!
Laurio is really embracing her role as the Liberal Party’s propagandist. The timing of her post is perfect for the coming mid-term elections. She only praises politicians from the Liberal Party. She didn’t even mind it when she was recently exposed as Kris Aquino’s paid hack. Laurio’s silence after Aquino confirmed she was funding the boosting of Laurio’s blogs on social media site Facebook says a lot. Laurio even defended this by saying it was only fair to ask for help since she needed more exposure for her articles. That just proves that her popularity is not organic and would be difficult to sustain when she loses all the people who prop her up.
A who’s-who of liberal media, ‘journalism’, and leftist ‘activist’ honchos graced Laurio’s wedding to hobnob with elite oligarchs.
Most of us know Laurio only became popular after members of mainstream media who are against Duterte helped push her profile up. They used her and tried to portray her as a victim of cyber bullying perpetrated by Duterte supporters. We will not forget how the Inquirer gave Laurio the 2017 Filipino of the Year award. She didn’t even do anything but pretend to be a victim of online trolls. It’s not like Laurio wrote something that changed the mindset of Filipinos for the better. She was actually engaging in vicious attacks against her perceived enemies. But that wasn’t highlighted by her supporters in the media. In fact, Laurio was even interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) at the height of her “fame”.
One wonders how on earth the BBC found out about her. It can only be through connections from mainstream media – someone who thought they could use her as their poster girl against Duterte. Rappler CEO Maria Ressa has connections in foreign media. Ressa eventually became one of Laurio’s wedding sponsors during her recent nuptials. For someone unemployed, a lot of people wondered how Laurio could afford her extravagant wedding with guests from the elite members of Philippine society. Some people have speculated that Laurio managed to find sponsors to spend for the occasion. There were moneyed Liberal Party members and supporters who attended her wedding.
People like Laurio have a talent for asking for money by using emotional blackmail. They try to make you feel like you’re a terrible person if you don’t give them money or do them favors. They pretend the money would be used to pay for medical bills, for example, or to save them from their wretched existence. I’m pretty sure most people would be familiar with someone like that. These moochers usually start by relating their tales of woe and then proceed to ask you to help them. If you say no, they will become aggressive and badmouth you just like what Laurio did to the other politicians who did not give money to her friend.
The poor believe society owes them thanks to decades of being pandered to by Filipino politicians and activists.
Unfortunately, the politicians who give in to the demands of people like Laurio – people who ask for money or favors – are contributing to the culture of mendicancy in Philippine society. There are people who think that the government’s role is to give them money or provide free access to everything. There is even a group called Kadamay the leaders of which encourage their members to grab and squat on vacant private or government housing properties because they feel entitled to it just because they are “poor”. They also become aggressive and play the victim card once officers of law enforcement agencies try to kick them out. The media doesn’t help when they portray them as being harassed even when they are violent. The problem is, the politicians do not want to be portrayed as anti-poor and are afraid of losing votes so they turn a blind eye to the dysfunctional and illegal behavior.
This situation has been going on for decades. The population of people with a strong sense of entitlement keeps growing no thanks to people like Laurio who perpetuate it. No wonder the Philippines remain a basket case.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
Jover Laurio, the ugly faced WebMaster of the “Pinoy Ako Blog”, has an ugly face and has an ugly character.
She is the Paid Troll of the Liberal Party and the Aquino Cojuangco political axis. Maybe, the candidates: Hontivirus and Bam Aquino, hired her to promote this “charitable tale”, to get votes, and deceive voters.
It is the same tactic of politicians, like Erap Estrada, who had a political Mantra, of : “Erap para sa mahihirap”. This idiot Estrada go to the squatters areas, and distribute: sardines, tuyo, a bit of rice,some packed noodles, etc…to buy votes.
Most Filipino voters, are used to and think, these politicians are sources of “manna from heaven”…
Where do they get the money to buy these goods, or pay your needs , idiots ? They steal them from our taxes…
Beware of politicians and their promoters, showing , “acts of charities”, before the election. They want to deceived you, for your votes !
The idea of hero-martyr-saint dominates the mind of the Pilipinos, It is use by the elite, the church, the military, and politicians to make them appear above ordinary, a transcendental being with an imagined power and thus makes the people beholden to this power, the only power they can think of to rely upon.
Mendicancy will always exist because we tolerate the idea of dependency.
Of course this is part of the Filipino culture. Have pity on me mentality is more encouraged than hard work. #1) look at the noon time shows where they encourage the tale of woe instead of encouraging creativity and productivity. #2) Noynoy was rewarded with the presidency. Not because of anything he did as a public servant. Truth be told he did nothing. He was rewarded because his mother died. No wonder Jover chose that side to throw her hat in. She should throw her hat in front of her physiognomy.
For most Filipinos, there’s nothing to do but strap on an attitude and act like they’re having a ball.
This is just another ranting article of a heartless stupid creature name Ilda who doesn’t have an iota of mercy to her fellow men in need especially the one who is in emergency situation, grieving for the death of his/her father, who needs money immediately to pay the bills and who doesn’t know where to go to ask for help. You expose your true color how selfish you are! Perhaps you don’t know the feeling of being helpless and the situation she/he went thru before asking for help and you concluded immediately what you assumed as mendicant behaviour. It is obvious that you cannot relate with her dire situation. And you have no idea what actually transpired in his/her life. The two senators did what they think they could help. Jover did not even mention how and what the two did to help her friend and you concluded immediately that the two gave money.
Ilda, you should go back to the bigger picture and find the crux of the problem why there are still many poor. A lot has to do with the government’s negligence and incompetence. Today’s government did not even bother to control and manage the population growth, which is the root of the problem. And did not do anything about the Reproductive Health Law passed during Aquino admin. to be properly implemented. Jover’s example above is just one of the many situations in this country where many asked money for help from elected officials because they are almost helpless.
Government should find ways to minimize the population explosion in this country where majority of those added babies belong to the poor families. Every year it is estimated that 1.6 million Filipinos are being added to the Philippine population. Hence, every year government has to add additional budget for almost every sphere and scope affected by population growth such as, but not limited to, additional hospitals and medicines, classrooms for students, rice and other crops to be fed to additional people, water infra, electricity, budget for additional doctors and nurses for additional hospitals, teachers, and police among many others. Furthermore, government has to provide available vacant jobs every year suited for unemployed people who just graduated from college or those who chose to get employed without degree. This is where government must do something to limit the cause of mendicany problem in the Philippines.
This is where you should start and not your very shallow analysis Ilda for your very shallow understanding on mendicancy in the Philippines.
Poor people aren’t poor because of government negligence. They are poor because they don’t make enough money to pay for the life they committed themselves to funding.
It’s one of the reasons. There are poop people who don’t know how to be financially stable and they also need help. You cannot expect them to change on their own. Those who are in power in the government have to be the pioneer of change and not the bottom sector of society.
The bottomline in general is that the government must be aggressive to do something to curb the population growth problem and find ways these poor people be educated on sex education and financial management so that they don’t depend on others. This could have ripple effect in the entire country if government is to lead them.
The Duterte government has to figure it out that is why they are in power because they took oath to implement the existing laws and initiate a plan to give comfort to the people who elected them in exchange of the taxes of the people for their salary as a reward of their supposed service to the people. If those in government don’t do their big share, mendicancy will continue and you cannot stop this if you expect poor people should be the one to solve it. You will only appear being stupid.
Indeed, you can’t expect those types of poor people who “don’t know how to be financially stable” (let’s use your accidentally-appropriate typo, “poop people” to refer to them for brevity’s sake) to change on their own. But neither should we expect other people to take responsibility for their inability to change. Certainly those who pay taxes do so under the expectation that said taxes will be allocated to state initiatives that hold the best promise of benefiting the broader general public.
Investing in “poop people” will certainly not deliver on that promise.
One “appearing stupid” in taking the position that nobody (not even the government) owes “poop people” anything is a small price to pay to be realistic. No amount of money thrown at “poop people” will make them financially viable.
You can’t expect the government to do EVERYTHING for you. Yes, poor people need help. But they should also help themselves. When something bad happens through mismanagement, then they would resort to blame government if things go out of hand when that applies for both sides.
Over-reliance of government is also stupidity. You’re suggesting that mendicancy should continue, right?
benign0,
Really a typo error, but are you suggesting to eliminate poor people because as you said they are useless? That’s your defeatist mentality and shortcut drastic solution to eliminate poverty? That is just plainly a coward idiotic act. You are bringing an idea that is not even done by rich countries today who were poor and struggling before. Instead they help their citizens on many ways how to get out of poverty. China, Singapore, Sout Korea nd Malaysia are those few countries who helped their poor people in getting rid of poverty and attaining middle class and rich status today.
Certainly, this government is not doing good enough to attain the promises other world leaders done to their citizen’s benefit both the rich and poor equally.
@PinoyCitizen: You have to be really clear about what you mean when you say that governments “helped their poor people in getting rid of poverty and attaining middle class and rich status today”.
Governments cannot make people unpoor. They can only provide a foundation upon which people and businesses can compete on an equal footing. But like in any competitive endeavour, not everyone can be winners. There will always be losers. Government cannot unlose losers in much the same way as they cannot unpoor the poor.
benign0,
What I mean is these countries got rid of poverty and mendicancy (not in absolute numbers) because their government did what their citizens and their laws are expected them to do. They did not unpoor the poor people but they help them sincerely and they showed them the right direction they have to take. And so the numbers of their poor people reduced greatly making it to the middle class because of governments’ primary help. Singapore governments for example have, aside from giving jobs with good compensation to their citizens, also put up government surplus budget money to be equally distributed to all its citizens every year. While in the Philippines, this Duterte government is still confused what path to take. Duterte did not encourage poor people to work hard and to prioritize what is important to take this country to the next level. He did not promote solution to curb population growth and so your Ilda’s mendicancy rant continues to exist as poor Filipino people continue to grow rapidly as part of 1.6 million additional babies every year, which adds more burden on the part of government to manage the Philippines.
^In Singapore’s case, that’s because they have an open economy that they are able to do so.
I don’t know if the Duterte government is still confused or there are people who loves to confuse others so in order to shift blame to the present government but not to help themselves. Worse case scenario is it because the media even barely reported that that most people love to make up stuff so there are people who keeps on parroting “that Duterte did not encourage poor people to work hard and to prioritize what is important to take this country to the next level” “He did not promote solution to curb population”. Upon your first point, you can never tell because it depends on the people themselves.
Like I said, it’s easy for you to blame the current government for the continuation of mendicancy but I’m 100% positive that you will stay silent when mendicancy continues in any government that is not named Duterte. You need to set your priorities straight.
And this is another rant from the heartless stupid creature named Pinoy NPC. Just as stupid as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Just to go on topic: did you just want to go full socialism on this? BTW, it’s also because of our dysfunctional culture about why Filipinos are in poverty. TBH, Jover and even you missed this:
You are an idiot! It is not socialism but an education. Government is not aggressive to curb population and so the efffect of a need to help more existing poor people who turned out to be mendicant because of government’s lack of sex education, lack of planning, lack of job generation for unemployed and so on.
CCT started during Arroyo and even existed even today’s government and the budget is getting bigger because government is idiotic enough not knowing what causes the root of the problem.
NPC = actual idiots.
What you’re suggesting is over-reliance to government that can lead towards socialism. Yes, education is important but we should improve it and one of those is getting rid of left-leaning influences.
And? It also continued during the Second Aquino Administration and you still love to blame today’s government. Of course, NPCs like you would love to say that. Typical.
Not over reliance but a good move by the government could enlighten the masses thinking from a difficult but sustainable one to being responsible people such as a program of government to minimize the population growth, which is the source of almost every problem every year. 1.6 million babies every year should be reduced to only at least 900k per year of growth so that government will not be burden with so much adjustments every year. Until now, government is not doing anything on that problem. One that is terribly affected on this is the staple food (rice suffiency). We cannot be rice sufficient if our population is swelling and the number of agricultural lands is depreciating. That is why mendicancy continues, poverty continues and desperate times to find a good source of income continues to plague this Filipino nation. Duterte and his cabinet officials are blind not to address that problem.
Yeah, yeah we know that you totally hate this present government but if it’s someone else you would stay quiet and pretend “everything is okay.”
Because when there is a government not named Duterte and still mendicancy continues, I’m gonna ask “What’s next?”. It’s also a culture thing.