FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 3

LITERATURE ON POVERTY
MODULE OVERVIEW

In this module, the literary pieces focus on a social issue—poverty in different perspective and angles of
the society.

What is poverty?

Poverty is the most prevalent social issue that our country is facing and through literature, we can
analyze various situations where poverty is noteworthy. What is poverty, anyway? This is the condition of
people or community where they cannot afford basic needs—food, shelter, clothing, and financial needs which
leads to different problems like malnutrition, poor literacy, unemployment and crime. People who are poor are
marginalized, they become victims of class struggle.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, students will be able to:

1. Use the appropriate literary criticism approach in the study and critiquing of literature.
2. Develop a sense of connectivity with social realities and literature.
3. Construct an academic paper which deals on the critiquing and discussion of the relevance of a literary
text to the society.

LEARNING CONTENTS (title of the subsection)

4.1. Why are Filipinos so Poor?

F. SIONIL JOSÉ: Why Are Filipinos So Poor

In the ’50s and ’60s, the Philippines was the most envied country in Southeast Asia. What happened?
What did South Korea look like after the Korean War in 1953? Battered, poor - but look at Korea now. In the
Fifties, the traffic in Taipei was composed of bicycles and army trucks, the streets flanked by tile-roofed low
buildings. Jakarta was a giant village and Kuala Lumpur a small village surrounded by jungle and rubber
plantations. Bangkok was criss-crossed with canals, the tallest structure was the Wat Arun, the Temple of the
Sun, and it dominated the city’s skyline. Ricefields all the way from Don Muang airport — then a huddle of
galvanized iron-roofed bodegas, to the Victory monument.Visit these cities today and weep — for they are
more beautiful, cleaner and prosperous than Manila. In the Fifties and Sixties we were the most envied
country in Southeast Asia. Remember further that when Indonesia got its independence in 1949, it had only
114 university graduates compared with the hundreds of Ph.D.’s that were already in our universities. Why
then were we left behind? The economic explanation is simple. We did not produce cheaper and better
products.

The basic question really is why we did not modernize fast enough and thereby doomed our people to
poverty. This is the harsh truth about us today. Just consider these: some 15 years ago a survey showed that
half of all grade school pupils dropped out after grade 5 because they had no money to continue
schooling.Thousands of young adults today are therefore unable to find jobs. Our natural resources have
been ravaged and they are not renewable. Our tremendous population increase eats up all of our economic
gains. There is hunger in this country now; our poorest eat only once a day. But this physical poverty is really
not as serious as the greater poverty that afflicts us and this is the poverty of the spirit.

Why then are we poor? More than ten years ago, James Fallows, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, came
to the Philippines and wrote about our damaged culture which, he asserted, impeded our development. Many

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

disagreed with him but I do find a great deal of truth in his analysis.This is not to say that I blame our social
and moral malaise on colonialism alone. But we did inherit from Spain a social system and an elite that, on
purpose, exploited the masses. Then, too, in the Iberian peninsula, to work with one’s hands is frowned upon
and we inherited that vice as well. Colonialism by foreigners may no longer be what it was, but we are now a
colony of our own elite.

We are poor because we are poor — this is not a tautology. The culture of poverty is self-
perpetuating. We are poor because our people are lazy. I pass by a slum area every morning - dozens of
adults do nothing but idle, gossip and drink. We do not save. Look at the Japanese and how they save in spite
of the fact that the interest given them by their banks is so little. They work very hard too.
We are great show-offs. Look at our women, how overdressed, over-coiffed they are, and Imelda epitomizes
that extravagance. Look at our men, their manicured nails, their personal jewelry, their diamond rings. Yabang
- that is what we are, and all that money expended on status symbols, on yabang. How much better if it were
channeled into production.

We are poor because our nationalism is inward looking. Under its guise we protect inefficient
industries and monopolies. We did not pursue agrarian reform like Japan and Taiwan. It is not so much the
development of the rural sector, making it productive and a good market as well. Agrarian reform releases the
energies of the landlords who, before the reform, merely waited for the harvest. They become entrepreneurs,
the harbingers of change.
Our nationalist icons like Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tanada opposed agrarian reform, the single
most important factor that would have altered the rural areas and lifted the peasant from poverty. Both of them
were merely anti-American.

And finally, we are poor because we have lost our ethical moorings. We condone cronyism and
corruption and we don’t ostracize or punish the crooks in our midst. Both cronyism and corruption are wasteful
but we allow their practice because our loyalty is to family or friend, not to the larger good.
We can tackle our poverty in two very distinct ways. The first choice: a nationalist revolution, a continuation of
the revolution in 1896. But even before we can use violence to change inequities in our society, we must first
have a profound change in our way of thinking, in our culture. My regret about EDSA is that change would
have been possible then with a minimum of bloodshed. In fact, a revolution may not be bloody at all if
something like EDSA would present itself again. Or a dictator unlike Marcos.

The second is through education, perhaps a longer and more complex process. 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 explosion which the Catholic Church exacerbates in its conformity with
doctrinal purity.We are faced with a growing compulsion to violence, but even if the communists won, they will
rule as badly because they will be hostage to the same obstructions in our culture, the barkada, the vaulting
egos that sundered the revolution in 1896, the Huk revolt in 1949-53.

To repeat, neither education nor revolution can succeed if we do not internalize new attitudes, new
ways of thinking. Let us go back to basics and remember those American slogans: A Ford in every garage. A
chicken in every pot. Money is like fertilizer: to do any good it must be spread around. Some Filipinos, taunted
wherever they are, are shamed to admit they are Filipinos. I have, myself, been embarrassed to explain, for
instance, why Imelda, her children and the Marcos cronies are back, and in positions of power. Are there
redeeming features in our country that we can be proud of? Of course, lots of them. When people say, for
instance, that our corruption will never be banished, just remember that Arsenio Lacson as mayor of Manila
and Ramon Magsaysay as president brought a clean government. We do not have the classical arts that
brought Hinduism and Buddhism to continental and archipelagic Southeast Asia, but our artists have now
ranged the world, showing what we have done with Western art forms, enriched with our own ethnic traditions.
Our professionals, c not just our domestics, are all over, showing how accomplished a people we are!

Look at our history. We are the first in Asia to rise against Western colonialism, the first to establish a
republic. Recall the Battle of Tirad Pass and glory in the heroism of Gregorio del Pilar and the 48 Filipinos who
died but stopped the Texas Rangers from capturing the president of that First Republic. Its equivalent in
ancient history is the Battle of Thermopylae where the Spartans and their king Leonidas, died to a man,
defending the pass against the invading Persians. Rizal — what nation on earth has produced a man like
him? At 35, he was a novelist, a poet, an anthropologist, a sculptor, a medical doctor, a teacher and
martyr.We are now 80 million and in another two decades we will pass the 100 million mark.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

Eighty million — that is a mass market in any language, a mass market that should absorb our
increased production in goods and services - a mass market which any entrepreneur can hope to exploit, like
the proverbial oil for the lamps of China.
Japan was only 70 million when it had confidence enough and the wherewithal to challenge the United States
and almost won. It is the same confidence that enabled Japan to flourish from the rubble of defeat in World
War II.

I am not looking for a foreign power for us to challenge. But we have a real and insidious enemy that
we must vanquish, and this enemy is worse than the intransigence of any foreign power. We are our own
enemy. And we must have the courage, the will, to change ourselves.

About the Author and the Article:

Francisco Sionil José was born on December 03, 1924 in

Rosales, Pangasinan. Francisco Sionil José’s novels, short stories and
non-fiction works highlight the social underpinnings, class struggles and
colonial history of Filipino society.

He started his writing career in 1949. Now, he has written 35

books that is translated in 20 languages worldwide.

The saying of Mahatma Ghandi, “Poverty is the worst form of

violence,” signifies that one reason why violence exist is because of poverty. Also, there are reasons or roots
on why there is poverty. But what is poverty? Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community
lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty means that the income
level from employment is so low that basic human needs might not be met. Poverty-stricken people and
families might go without proper housing, clean water, healthy food, and medical attention. Each nation may
have its own threshold that determines how many of its people are living in poverty (Chen, J., 2019).
According to the data of Global finance on Poorest Countries in the World 2019, Philippines ranks 74 out of
191 countries with a GDP of 9,494$.

In the article, “Why we are so poor,” the author named few reasons on why Filipinos are not just poor
but so poor. F. Sionil Jose describe how rich and developed other countries afar from the Philippines.
Moreover, the line, “Visit these cities today and weep — for they are more beautiful, cleaner and prosperous
than Manila,” implies than we need to actually realize how far we are now to the envied Philippines of the
years ‘60s and ‘70s.

There are lots of reasons why Philippines is left behind by Japan, China and other Asian countries. If
we are to count the reasons, it will never end. The number 1 in the list is corruption. Corruption is the abuse of
power for a self or private gain by the officials or people with a high rank. Based on the Corruption
Perceptions Index 2019, we rank 67 out of 180 countries as reported by the Transparency International. Thus,
it cannot be denied that it is a critical issue and problem that our country is facing. Corruption is endemic at all
levels and agencies of Government. Graft, embezzlement, fraud and bribery are commonplace. That is the
money of the Filipino taxpayer - money that could be spent on development projects and services. Corruption
happens for a familiar reason: every new regime uses the old mechanisms, which they had challenged before
assuming office, to advance its own interests rather than the interests of the people at large.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

Moreover, we Filipinos are poor because of historical factors from its time as a Spanish Colony. The
Spanish had a predominantly universal way of running their colonies. They created a mestizo class to control
political and business power. Of course, when the Spanish left those powerful dynastic families, they had no
intention of giving up their power. They not ever enacted and implement laws for a strong nation state that
was free and fair nation and inclusive for all. On the other hand, they fused their wealth and power and until
this day the Philippines with over 100 million on its population, is manipulated and used by over 400 dynastic
families including the Aquinos and Marcoses. As the saying goes, “their faces change but the surnames
remain.” The Philippines is humiliated because it was designed to be that way. The same is true with the
former Spanish Colonies in South and Central America.

Likewise, our country is poor because more than 4 in 10 Filipinos who are poor actually have jobs.
They continue to struggle with poverty because they are employed in poor-quality jobs that pay less than what
their counterparts in manufacturing industries get. But as a growth driver for the country’s economy,
manufacturing lags behind the services sector, including wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles
and motorcycles, real estate, tourism, financial and insurance, health and social work, and public
administration and defense. This structure is a result of the unconventional development path that the
Philippines has followed in seeking to modernize its old agriculture-based economy by leapfrogging to
services without first establishing a steady foothold in manufacturing that could have turned out more higher-
value products from farm output.

Aside from social, economic and political issues, environmental factors also contribute towards
making the Philippines poor. Many rural Filipinos depend on the country’s extensive natural resources,
particularly for the fishing and agricultural industries. However, environmental degradation brought about by
climate change and human irresponsibility negatively affects the lives of rural Filipinos. Also, frequent natural
disasters disproportionately affect poor Filipinos and worsen their already impoverished situation.

Lastly, we Filipinos are poor because of our culture of self-perpetuation and “yabang”. Look at slum
areas. As you pass by their place, most of them do gossip, alcohol drinking, and gambling. Instead of looking
for a moral job, they tend to waste time by being ‘tambay’. Another cultural factor of poverty is ‘yabang’
mentality. During pay time, most Filipinos spend their money in extravagance instead of saving and investing.
Most Filipinos also adhere this saying “Kung matataas ngang tao ginagawa nila kahit mali, bakit ako hindi.”
Even if we do know that it’s unlawful to corrupt and do ‘lagay system’ we tend to do the same mistake for our
convenience. These culture and mentality tends Filipinos to go down the underprivileged ones. The rich
becomes richer while the poor becomes poorer.

It is now high-time to change the course of these endemic mistakes and reasons of poverty. We can
start the change within ourselves, at home and bigger social scale. Our real enemy is our selves. The real
reasons why we are poor is because of our selves too. As Jose quoted, “We are our own enemy. And we
must have the courage, the will, to change ourselves.”

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 4

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

LEARNING CONTENTS (FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH)

4.2. Footnote to Youth

FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH
by: Jose Garcia Villa

The sun was salmon and hazy in the west. Dodong thought to himself he would tell his father about Teang
when he got home, after he had unhitched the carabao from the plow, and led it to its shed and fed it. He was
hesitant about saying it, he wanted his father to know what he had to say was of serious importance as it
would mark a climacteric in his life. Dodong finally decided to tell it, but a thought came to him that his father
might refuse to consider it. His father was a silent hardworking farmer, who chewed areca nut, which he had
learned to do from his mother, Dodong’s grandmother.

I will tell him. I will tell it to him.

The ground was broken up into many fresh wounds and fragrant with a sweetish earthy smell. Many slender
soft worms emerged from the further rows and then burrowed again deeper into the soil. A short colorless
worm marched blindly to Dodong’s foot and crawled clammily over it. Dodong got tickled and jerked his foot,
flinging the worm into the air. Dodong did not bother to look where into the air, but thought of his age,
seventeen, and he said to himself he was not young anymore.

Dodong unhitched the carabao leisurely and gave it a healthy tap on the hip. The beast turned its head to look
at him with dumb faithful eyes. Dodong gave it a slight push and the animal walked alongside him to its shed.
He placed bundles of grass before it and the carabao began to eat. Dodong looked at it without interest.

Dodong started homeward thinking how he would break his news to his father. He wanted to marry, Dodong
did. He was seventeen, he had pimples on his face, the down on his upper lip was dark – these meant he was
no longer a boy. He was growing into a man – he was a man. Dodong felt insolent and big at the thought of it,
although he was by nature low in stature. Thinking himself man-grown, Dodong felt he could do anything.

He walked faster, prodded by the thought of his virility. A small angled stone bled his foot, but he dismissed it
cursorily. He lifted his leg and looked at the hurt toe and then went on walking. In the cool sundown, he
thought wild young dreams of himself and Teang, his girl. She had a small brown face and small black eyes
and straight glossy hair. How desirable she was to him. She made him want to touch her, to hold her. She
made him dream even during the day.

Dodong tensed with desire and looked at the muscle of his arms. Dirty. This fieldwork was healthy
invigorating, but it begrimed you, smudged you terribly. He turned back the way he had come, then marched
obliquely to a creek.

Dodong stripped himself and laid his clothes, a gray under shirt and red kundiman shorts, on the grass. Then
he went into the water, wet his body over and rubbed at it vigorously. He was not long in bathing, then he
marched homeward again. The bath made him feel cool.

It was dusk when he reached home. The petroleum lamp on the ceiling was already lighted and the low
unvarnished square table was set for supper. He and his parents sat down on the floor around the table to
eat. They had fried freshwater fish, and rice, bananas and caked sugar.

Dodong ate fish and rice, but did not partake of the fruit. The bananas were overripe and when one held them,
they felt more fluid than solid. Dodong broke off a piece of caked sugar, dipped it in his glass of water and ate
it. He got another piece and wanted some more, but he thought of leaving the remainder for his parents.

Dodong’s mother removed the dishes when they were through, and went out to the batalan to wash them.
She walked with slow careful steps and Dodong wanted to help her carry the dishes out, but he was tired and

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 5

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

now felt lazy. He wished as he looked at her that he had a sister who could help his mother in the housework.
He pitied her, doing all the housework alone.

His father remained in the room, sucking a diseased tooth. It was paining him, again. Dodong knew. Dodong
had told him often and again to let the town dentist pull it out, but he was afraid, his father was. He did not tell
that to Dodong, but Dodong guessed it. Afterward, Dodong himself thought that if he had a decayed tooth, he
would be afraid to go to the dentist; he would not be any bolder than his father.

Dodong said while his mother was out that he was going to marry Teang. There it was out, what we had to
say, and over which he had done so much thinking. He had said it without any effort at all and without self-
consciousness. Dodong felt relieved and looked at his father expectantly. A decresent moon outside shed its
feeble light into the window, graying the still black temples of his father. His father looked old now.

“I am going to marry Teang,” Dodong said.

His father looked at him silently and stopped sucking the broken tooth, The silence became intense and cruel,
and Dodong wished his father would suck that troublous tooth again. Dodong was uncomfortable and then
became very angry because his father kept looking at him without uttering anything.

“I will marry Teang,” Dodong repeated. “I will marry Teang.”

His father kept gazing at him in inflexible silence and Dodong fidgeted in his seat.

“I asked her last night to marry me and she said…yes. I want your permission… I… want… it…” There was an
impatient clamor in his voice, an exacting protest at his coldness, this indifference. Dodong looked at his
father sourly. He cracked his knuckles one by one, and the little sound it made broke the night stillness dully.

“Must you marry, Dodong?”

Dodong resented his father’s question; his father himself had married early. Dodong made a quick
impassioned essay in his mind about selfishness, but later, he got confused.

“You are very young, Dodong.”

“I’m seventeen.”

“That’s very young to get married at.”

“I… I want to marry… Teang’s a good girl…

“Tell your mother,” his father said.

“You tell her, tatay.”

“Dodong, you tell your inay.”

“You tell her.”

“All right, Dodong.”

“You will let me marry Teang?”

“Son, if that is your wish… of course…” There was a strange helpless light in his father’s eyes. Dodong did not
read it. Too absorbed was he in himself.

Dodong was immensely glad he had asserted himself. He lost his resentment toward his father. For a while he
even felt sorry for him about the diseased tooth. Then he confined his mind dreaming of Teang and himself.
Sweet young dreams…

Dodong stood in the sweltering noon heat, sweating profusely so that his camiseta was damp. He was still as
a tree and his thoughts were confused. His mother had told him not to leave the house, but he had left. He
wanted to get out of it without clear reason at all. He was afraid, he felt. Afraid of the house. It had seemed to

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 6

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

cage him, to compress his thoughts with severe tyranny. Afraid also for Teang. Teang was giving birth in the
house; she gave screams that chilled his blood. He did not want her to scream like that, she seemed to be
rebuking him. He began to wonder madly if the process of childbirth was really painful. Some women, when
they gave birth, did not cry.

In a few moments he would be a father. “Father, father,” he whispered the word with awe, with strangeness.
He was young, he realized now contradicting himself of nine months ago. He was very young… He felt queer,
troubled, uncomfortable…“Your son,” people would soon be telling him. “Your son, Dodong.”

Dodong felt tired of standing. He sat down on a sawhorse with his feet close together. He looked at his
calloused toes. Suppose he had ten children…What made him think that? What was the matter with him?
God!

He heard his mother’s voice from the house.

“Come up, Dodong. It is over.”

Suddenly, he felt terribly embarrassed as he looked at her. Somehow, he was ashamed to his mother of his
youthful paternity. It made him feel guilty, as if he has taken something not properly his. He dropped his eyes
and pretended to dust off his kundiman shorts.

“Dodong,” his mother called again. “Dodong.”

He turned to look again and this time, he saw his father beside his mother.

“It is a boy.” His father said. He beckoned Dodong to come up.

Dodong felt more embarrassed and did not move. His parent’s eyes seemed to pierce through him so he felt
limp. He wanted to hide or even run away from them.

“Dodong, you come up. You come up,” his mother said.

Dodong did not want to come up. He’d rather stayed in the sun.

“Dodong… Dodong.”

I’ll… come up.

Dodong traced the tremulous steps on the dry parched yard. He ascended the bamboo steps slowly. His heart
pounded mercilessly in him. Within, he avoided his parent’s eyes. He walked ahead of them so that they
should not see his face. He felt guilty and untrue. He felt like crying. His eyes smarted and his chest wanted to
burst. He wanted to turn back, to go back to the yard. He wanted somebody to punish him.

His father thrust his hand in his and gripped it gently.

“Son,” his father said.

And his mother: “Dodong..”

How kind were their voices. They flowed into him, making him strong.

“Teang?” Dodong said.

“She’s sleeping. But you go on…”

His father led him into the small sawali room. Dodong saw Teang, his girl-wife, asleep on the papag with
black hair soft around her face. He did not want her to look that pale.

Dodong wanted to touch her, to push away that stray wisp of hair that touched her lips. But again that feeling
of embarrassment came over him, and before his parents, he did not want to be demonstrative.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 7

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

The hilot was wrapping the child. Dodong heard him cry. The thin voice pierced him quietly. He could not
control the swelling of happiness in him.

“You give him to me. You give him to me,” Dodong said.

Blas was not Dodong’s only child. Many more children came. For six successive years, a new child came
along. Dodong did not want any more children. But they came. It seemed that the coming of children could not
helped. Dodong got angry with himself sometimes.

Teang did not complain, but the bearing of children told on her. She was shapeless and thin now, even if she
was young. There was interminable work to be done. Cooking. Laundering. The house. The children. She
cried sometimes, wishing she had not married. She did not tell Dodong this, not wishing him to dislike her. Yet
she wished she had not married. Not even Dodong whom she loved. There had been another suitor, Lucio,
older than Dodong by nine years, and that was why she had chosen Dodong. Young Dodong. Seventeen.
Lucio had married another after her marriage to Dodong, but he was childless until now. If she had married
Lucio, she wondered, would she have borne him children? Maybe not, either. That was a better lot. But she
loved Dodong…

Dodong whom life had made ugly.

One night, as he lay beside his wife, he rose and went out of the house. He stood in the moonlight, tired and
querulous. He wanted to ask questions and somebody to answer him. He wanted to be wise about many
things.

One of them was why life did not fulfill all of the Youth’s dreams. Why it must be so. Why one was forsaken…
after love.

Dodong could not find the answer. Maybe the question was not to be answered. It must be so to make youth
Youth. Youth must be dreamfully sweet. Dreamfully sweet. Dodong returned to the house, humiliated by
himself. He had wanted to know a little wisdom but was denied it.

When Blas was eighteen, he came home one night, very flustered and happy. Dodong heard Blas’ steps for
he could not sleep well of nights. He watched Blass undress in the dark and lie down softly. Blas was restless
on his mat and could not sleep. Dodong called his name and asked why he did not sleep.

“You better go to sleep. It is late,” Dodong said.

Blas raised himself on is elbow and muttered something in a low fluttering voice.

“Itay..” Blas called softly.

Dodong stirred and asked him what it was.

“I’m going to marry Tona. She accepted me tonight.”

Dodong lay on the red pillow without moving.

“Itay, you think its over.”

Dodong lay silent.

I loved Tona and… I want her.”

Dodong rose from his mat and told Blas to follow him. They descended to the yard where everything was still
and quiet.The moonlight was cold and white.

“You want to marry Tona,” Dodong said. He did not want Blas to marry yet. Blas was very young. The life that
would follow marriage would be hard…

“Yes.”

“Must you marry?”

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 8

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

Blas’ voice was steeled with resentment. “I will marry Tona.”

“You have objections, Itay?” Blas asked acridly.

“Son… n-none…” (But truly, God, I don’t want Blas to marry yet…not yet. I don’t want Blas to marry yet…)

But he was helpless. He could not do anything. Youth must triumph… now. Afterward… it will be Life.

As long ago Youth and Love did triumph for Dodong… and then Life.

Dodong looked wistfully at his young son in the moonlight. He felt extremely sad and sorry for him.

About the Author:

Jose Garcia Villa was born on August 05, 1908 in Manila. He was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short
story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973.
He used the pen name Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Eagle, Lion"), based on the characters he derived
from his own works. These animals were also explored by another poet, E. E. Cummings, in "Doveglion,
Adventures in Value", a poem dedicated to Villa.

Who are the Youth?

Many countries also draw the line on youth with regard to the age at which a person is given equal
treatment under the law—often referred to as the ‘age of majority.’ This age is commonly 18 in many
countries; so that once a person attains this age, he or she is considered to be an adult. Nonetheless, the
operational definition and nuances of the term ‘youth’ vary from country to country, depending on relative
sociocultural, institutional, economic and political factors.

According to the United Nations, There are no international definition given for the youth age group.
However, for statistical purposes, they defines youth as those people with the age ranging from 15 to 24. On
the other hand, the youth age group is defined based on a legal bases. According to Republic Act No.
8044 or R. A. 8044 also known as The Youth in Nation-Building Act, Section 2,” “Youth” is the critical period in
a person’s growth and development from the onset of adolescence towards the peak of mature, self-reliant
and responsible adulthood comprising the considerable sector of the population from the age of fifteen (15) to
thirty (30) years.” Thus, it also emphasizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building. As our country’s
national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal quoted, “Ang kabataan and pag-asa ng bayan.” The future of our fatherland
depends on the behavior and decision of the youth.

Youth has been said to be the most challenging period in one’s life. It is true that we continue to
experience changes throughout the life cycle, but the relatively short period between childhood and adulthood
would have to be the most challenging one when one stops to consider all the transformations that we have to
deal with; from the dramatic changes in our physical make-up to the often times empowering but at times
confusing changes in the way we think, feel, act and relate to other people.

Today, the process of socialization of modern youth takes place in absolutely other circumstances in
comparison with former generations. The social activity of young people and teenagers is being developed not
only in real but also in virtual space. The internet environment, where new generation representatives actively
manifest themselves, has significant effect on their life goals and behaviour. This influence can be positive
and useful and on the other hand, negative by deforming human mind and own personality.
Several challenges confront the Filipino youth of today. Constraints in time will not permit me to discuss all of
them so I will just focus on the following major areas: education, employment, sexuality and high-risk
behaviors.

Education

Filipinos in general attach strong importance to education. It is considered to be one of the best, if not the
only, means for building a good future. Filipino parents strongly believe that the best inheritance they can give
to their sons and daughters is a good education. Many parents who go abroad cite as their primary reason for
doing so the desire to earn and save enough to pay for their children’s education. This strong importance
attached to education is shared by the youth, which they frequently show by trying to do well in school.
Basic and secondary education in the country has been provided free by the government. Now, even tertiary
education is free of tuition and miscellaneous fees as long as it is in State Universities and Colleges, Local

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 9

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

Universities and Colleges and State-Run Technical-Vocational Institutions as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
enacted into law the REPUBLIC ACT No. 10931 or R. A. No. 10931 also known as "Universal Access to
Quality Tertiary Education Act” in August 03, 2017.
Employment
Based on Philippine Statistics Authority, the following are the results on the survey about the Youth Population
and Labor Participation in October 2019:
The October 2019 Labor Force Participation Rate of youth (15-24 years old) in the country was estimated at
37.0 percent given the total youth population of 19.9 million.
Youth employment rate was estimated at 87.2 percent in October 2019 while it was 86.7 percent in the same
month a year ago. Of the employed youth (15-24 years old) in October 2019, 1.7 percent were
underemployed.
In October 2019, an estimated 0.9 million of youth were unemployed out of the 7.3 million youth labor force
population.
There were 17.1 percent of the youth who were Not in Employment, Education and Training (NEET) in
October 2019.
The proportion of youth (15-24 years old) who were new entrants to the labor force was estimated at 10.6
percent.
The employed youth (15-24 years old) in October 2019 worked on an average of 39.7 hours per week.
The youth tend to find a job without completing their tertiary education because of financial instability,
however, were not successful in landing on a job that can sustain the daily needs of their family.

Marriage, Sexuality and Risk Behaviors

The Filipino youth’s high level of curiosity brings them to other explorations that are equally risky.
They are impulsive in decision making and are not thinking on the long-term consequences of their actions.

More and more young adults focus on the thought that marriage is the key to outgrow poverty
however, little is known on how youth living in poverty view their possibilities of future family formation.
Marriage expectations and attitudes are important because research has positive and negative impacts on
adults and children and is associated with positive social, economic, and physical outcomes.

Moreover, the youth are exposed to at risk behaviors such as, behaviors that contribute to
unintentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors that contribute
to unintended pregnancy and STDs, including HIV infection, unhealthy dietary behavior, physical inactivity,
including obesity and asthma.

The information above gives you an overview of who the youths are and what their life may seem at
the period of their life. Thus, the story of Footnote to Youth is great manifestation or illustration on how
impulsive the youth thinks and decides. This gives a great realization and lesson to the youth of today’s era.
Most importantly, these serves as a mirror on what their future beholds as a teenage parents with regrets on
their behavior and action when they thought of marriage and the life after marriage.

The story focus on the story of Dodong in his desire to marry Teang at the age of 17. The impulsive
decision of Dodong manifests the characteristics and at-risk behaviors of youth that without thinking wisely
and carefully, it may cause a life-time consequences that one have to endure. Moreover, Dodong was blinded
by love and not the life after marriage.

As the saying goes, Regret is always at the end. Therefore, the youth must think of the future as
much as they think at the moment because today may be the bases of the events of tomorrow. It will not
always be happy day but with acceptance, the sadness and guilt will be lessened but will not disappear.

SUMMARY

Poverty is a condition of one community where the need of basic needs is not meet and sustained.
Basic needs may refer to food, shelter, clothing, safety, etc. This is a prevalent issue in our country that we
need to address and resolve.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 10

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in (LIT 1: Society and Literature) Module No. 3

“We are so Poor” is written by Francisco Sionil José that highlights list of reasons on why Filipinos
are so poor. It pinpoints habits that makes Filipinos poor that the main reason on what we have and what we
are now is us, how we perceive life and on how we act on life.

Jose Garcia Villa’s “Footnote to Youth” reflects a life situation where Dodong got married
impulsively at the age of 17 not prepared on what the future beholds. When he faced difficulties, he regretted
his actions, however regret can never turn back time. It becomes a lesson in life. This story gives a clear view
on what happened if we are not careful in our decisions. It opens our mind to be aware of social issues in our
society.

REFERENCES

Chen, J. (2019). Poverty. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/poverty.asp

Guerrero , A. (2018). Swinging between Journalism and Literature. Retrieved from:

https://opinion.inquirer.net/109917/swinging-journalism-literature

Jose, S. F. (2018). Why Are Filipinos So Poor? Retrieved from:

https://fitzvillafuerte.com/why-are-filipinos- so-poor.html

Paulo, J. (2013). Children of the City by Amadis Ma. Guerrero. Retrieved from:
https://gissellemildredpaulo.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/children-of-the-city-by-amadis-ma-guerrero/

Puyat, J. (2003). The Filipino youth today: Their strengths and the challenges they face. University of the
Philippines

Republic Act 8044 or The Youth in Nation-Building Act. National Youth Commission. Retrieved from:
http://nyc.gov.ph/republic-act-8044/

Republic Act No. 10931 or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The LawPhil Project, Arellano
Law Foundation Retrieved from: https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2017/ra_10931_2017.html

Robertson, J. (2017). Why is the Philippines poor? Retrieved from:

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the- Philippines-poor

Tamor, K. (2018). Critical Analysis on Why Filipinos are Poor. Retrieved from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
326395383_A_Critical_Analysis_on_Why_Filipinos_are_Poor

Ventura, L. (2019). Poorest Countries in the World 2019. Retrieved from:

https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/the-poorest-countries-in-the-world

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 11