ANGELU MANOELLE F. GUARDIAN
2ND YEAR – AC2B
GE4: LONG TEST
FILIPINOS ARE FREED FROM SOCIAL INJUSTICES, AREN’T THEY?
Rizal’s concept of freedom is simple yet very complex to attain and achieve. His idea of freedom
is simply to be free from the strangling restrictions imposed upon the Filipinos during their time by the
Spaniards. He wants to free the Filipinos from the restrictions in education, social progress, government,
work careers, and press releases which he visualizes to achieve without any presence of violence. Thus,
he started his movement by making literary pieces that may open the eyes of many Filipinos and awaken
the sleeping love for their nation deep within them.
An armed revolution wasn’t really appreciated by Rizal as he considers this to be an impossible
way for the Filipinos to do as fight for liberality. He even described armed revolution to be impossible,
absurd, and disastrous. He stated that the betterments “must come from above” because those that “come
from below are upheavals of violence and transitory.
With this concept of freedom, as preferred by Rizal, Filipinos must have equal rights in politics,
society, education, and many more other opportunities that a citizen must equally acquire can be also
referred to as social justice. Social justice is the fair and equal distribution of rights among citizens of a
nation. May it be fairness in education, employment, health, economy, and in many more other aspects
where the human rights of every single one are respected. The concept of freedom that Rizal had is
connected to the idea of social justice since he wants to achieve this equality for every Filipino during
their time.
Filipinos of today most likely have heard of the social injustices imposed on the Filipinos during
the Spanish colonization. There was discrimination present with regard to skin color, political stances,
and religion which were all brought upon by friar injustices and Spanish colonialism. These were some of
the oppressive restrictions and damnation that Rizal has described in his literary works and fought against
in order to help free all the Filipinos not only of that time but also of today.
With all these said, were Filipinos really freed from social injustices as of today? May we ponder
if the efforts and sacrifices of all our heroes are worth spending considering that there are still social
injustices imposed upon some Filipinos by other people, and worse, even by our fellow Filipinos.
Social justice is the equal distribution and recognition of everyone’s human rights. As of today,
there are abundant rights and opportunities provided for many Filipinos, especially in the aspects of
health, education, livelihood, employment, housing, safety and security, agriculture and fisheries, etc.
With all these stated social justices, one would still think why do the Philippines still have lots of
poverty and hunger cases? There are still thousands of children that aren’t able to finish their studies
because they would already prefer to work by making ‘kalakal’ just so that they’ll get money for food and
other essentials. This was further described by Ms. Jane Walker, a British charity worker and founder in
the Philippines, who has helped not only thousands of children but also thousands of families in the
country, especially those that are located in slum areas.
It just saddens us to think that it’s needed to take a foreigner to help out our fellow Filipinos,
considering that we still have the government with us – not to mention that Ms. Jane Walker is just one of
the foreigners who have founded non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines. There are
thousands of NGOs present today in the country and these help Filipinos greatly. Thus, one would
question, where is our government, and why do the Philippines still need help from thousands of NGOs?
With this, societal issues will surface in everyone’s minds. All Filipinos most probably have been
aware of the ongoing corruption in the country performed by government officials. I believe that the habit
of performing corruption is already expected to occur since it has always been occurring ever since.
Along with this, there are even other existing social injustices today such as the EJK, abuse of power,
inequality, and discrimination. With all the presence of these, it saddens us to think how Filipinos are
living each and every day. There are hundreds of Filipinos experiencing hunger and poverty that
according to studies, there are 5.6 million Filipino families that are living in poverty as of 2022
(Macasero, 2022). It was also stated that the Philippines ranks on top among the countries in East Asia
with one of the highest rates of income inequality due to its income Gini coefficient of 42.3% in 2018
(PHILIPPINES: Reducing Inequality Key to Becoming a Middle-Class Society Free of Poverty, 2023).
If Rizal would still alive today, we should be embarrassed to face him as these societal issues
present today were also the societal issues that he has been fighting against in the past. I believe that he
would be reacting negatively and questioning the Filipinos of today as to what has happened. The worst
case is, these societal issues are not only imposed by foreigners anymore but even by our fellow Filipinos
who are greedy for money and power. He and the other heroes have exerted so much effort and sacrifice
only to find out that our fellow citizens are the ones who’ll impose social injustices on the other Filipinos.
As a youth, I would be advocating for social justice in simple yet powerful ways that our
generation was granted which is the use of social media. Social media, the internet, and technology have
evolved over the few years which allows ease and convenience for everyone’s life today. This helps us to
communicate and share information as fast and as easily. Therefore, as a youth, I would advocate social
justice by simply sharing information that may help Filipinos awaken their eyes to see that there are still
existing social injustices in the country that should be abolished permanently so that no one amongst us
would experience inequality and discrimination anymore.
The use of Twitter, as an example, can be a good medium for sharing information and advocacies
regarding social justice which may encourage Filipinos to wake up and work with one another in fighting
against the oppressive restrictions that Filipinos are still experiencing today. Indeed, Filipinos are still
experiencing oppressive restrictions. Although it can’t be compared to the restrictions Filipinos
experienced before, it is still restricting Filipinos at some point. Most families, especially in slum areas of
the Philippines, are not able to have proper access to education and health due to extreme poverty and
hunger. Due to this, they prioritize spending even their early lives working hard to get money and food
instead of focusing on their education.
Another platform that is powerful in advocating for social justice is the use of change.org. This
platform is a large and nonprofit petition website that is able to reach more than 400 million users. The
use of this website is free and anyone who wants to promote change in the world has the power to do so
by just simply writing their thoughts and idea. The website can assure you that your words would be able
to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the world. This means that sharing your thoughts
about changes in the world for its betterment would easily and quickly extend out to as far as many
internet users in the world who would potentially be able to help you start the movement for the reform.
By utilizing the internet to its most efficient and proper use, as a youth, I would be able to support
and help out NGOs and other social advocacy groups, not only in the Philippines but even around the
world, by simply sharing their posts and updates regarding their programs which may help them reach
more people and families around the world – resulting in a progressive amount of people that they would
be able to help. This manner is not costly in terms of monetary cost or time since I have everyday access
to technology and the internet which enables me to perform this properly and effectively. Along with
this, I would even be able to start a movement amongst all the people in the world with the same
advocacy as I am and we’ll be able to encourage ourselves in starting the change or reform we would
want for the betterment of everyone.
Just as Professor Solita “Winnie” Monsod has said, “people are so powerful, they just don’t know
it”. We all have the power to make a change no matter how little or big that change may be. It just takes
dedication and courage to do so, and for sure, nothing can stop a human being who is empowered to make
change and reform for the betterment of everyone. Once one person is able to stand up, it would also
encourage more people with the same thoughts and ideas to stand up as well and fight against oppressive
restrictions and limitations. Together, may we all rise up and reach for betterment beyond the
deteriorating society we are in.
REFERENCES:
Macasero, R. (2022, November 24). Over 5.6 million Filipino families living in poverty – DSWD.
RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/filipino-families-living-in-poverty-2022dswd/#:~:text=MANILA%2C%20Philippines%20%E2%80%93%20There%20are%20ov
er,Welfare%20and%20Development%20(DSWD).
PHILIPPINES: Reducing Inequality Key to Becoming a Middle-Class Society Free of Poverty.
(2023, February 2). World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pressrelease/2022/11/24/ph-reducing-inequality-key-to-becoming-a-middle-class-society-freeof-poverty