Thursday, February 5, 2009
Pulubi
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Pulubi is a Filipino term for anybody who is dirt poor, they got no shelter to call home. They roam the streets to ask for money from people, day in and day out, and by night time, they make beds out of used carton boxes and sleep right at the curb.
Please, I'm not in anyway trying to degrade or make fun of these people or try to make them look more sorry. I will just write a simple rant here which I think is justifiable.
Pulubi comes in different forms. Some are old mothers who would ask money from you from your car window, others blind men. And another one which I think is the most horrifying (sorry for the choice of word), a mother carrying an infant or a toddler, begging money from cars, amidst Manila's horrendous air pollution.
I feel sorry for the kid. It is not his fault to be dragged into that mess. The mother who carries the child is very irresponsible, selfish, and stupid. Sorry for the choice of wordings again. The reason I have for giving those descriptions is because she only makes her kid get worse, inhaling all those carbon monoxide from car fumes. In the end, she'll only need more money to pay for her kid's hospital expenses and worse, need the money to bury her kid.
Giving money from your car windows are in my opinion, a shallow show of love. You can donate the money to the institutions that attend to these people instead.
Whenever I see a mom beggar carrying her kid and go to every car window she can as fast as possible through a red light on an intersection, I can't help but feel disappointed. Please, don't drag your kid into this mess. You only make things worse. Don't give the excuse that you are poor that's why you had to do that. If you need to beg, don't present your child as an offering to make or force people to hand their loose change over to your palm.
I know life is not fair and I sincerely want your lives to be comfortable as well.
This post was written by: Jerick Baluyot
Jerick Baluyot is a professional blogger, writer and digital marketing specialist. Follow him on Twitter
7 Responses to “Pulubi”
February 7, 2009 at 3:12 PM
the first word that we should be teaching our students the moment they enter school is
---RESPONSIBLITY.
I agree with your ideas---I even feel the same. Very well said.
February 8, 2009 at 5:25 PM
I agree with what you said. Whenever I see young kids roaming the streets shirtless and dirty, my heart is broken into pieces. no joke! last month, i was in legazpi city and withdrawing my allowance for the week, a boy approached me. he was asking for money to buy lunch. i was hesitant to give him kasi baka ibili lang niya ng kung ano. so after I got the money, I walked away from the place but he followed me. and still asking for some coins. i stopped to get money and i talked to him. sabi ko "nasan yung mga magulang mo?" he answered back sabi niya nasa bahay daw. i told him dapat nasa bahay siya and yung parents niya yung naghahanap ng paraan para mapakain sila. and dapat nasa school siya hindi nanlilimos sa kalsada. His parents were IRRESPONSIBLE. And they don't have the right to blame anyone or the gov't for that matter.
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February 9, 2009 at 8:36 PM
thanks for your comments people. appreciated them.
February 9, 2009 at 11:10 PM
noong bata pa ako yagit ang tawag sa kanila
tanda mo ba sina jocelyn at tomtom?
yumaman ang mga yon dahil sa pagiging yagit
btw, na-link na kita
salamat nga pala sa mga pangungulit mo
hehe
February 9, 2009 at 11:12 PM
di ko kilala sina jocelyn at tomtom.
pangungulit ko? ulul! joke.
February 10, 2009 at 5:39 AM
That drives me crazy! If you know me than you know i'm 100%american but my kasing kasing 100% pinoy! my family will testify of that! And amongst all other things the children are the thing i love most! it was hard for me to see the beggers but i feel like there are so many ways for them to take care of themselves i wish the parents would teach the children so they had some skills other than begging!
February 10, 2009 at 5:52 AM
i know your advocacy and i salute you for that logan!
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