It’s some kind of paranoia.

Juan Dela Cruz become crazy this time because of the flooded deadly societal problems ranging from its economy, politics, governance, environment and inhabitants which encompasses their lifestyles, health, criminalities and abuses that may directly and indirectly affect everyone.

Recently, a number of prices of basic commodities have increase due to oil price hike in which the price is volatile and inherent in the world trade market. The prices reveal that almost 10% increase was seen in the primal commodities in the past economic events which clearly pass-on burden to Juan Dela Cruz that makes him slouch further.

Billions of loses due to counterfeiting

The counterfeiting and piracy problem is not limited to CD's, VCDs and computer softwares but also affects top brands of garments, bags, wallets, medicines, liquified petroleum gas (LPGs), batteries, lamps, bulbs and switches, brandy, vodka, cigarettes, soaps and shampoo, laser printer toner and ink cartridges, sofa beds, hacksaws, toys and electronic goods. According to the Brand Protection Association (BPA), almost 15 multinational companies were affected because of this counterfeiting and most of the counterfeits products were boldly sold and distributed to shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets and those products were typically come from China. If this will continue to happen, our economy will bump down and no more investors will put in investments in the country, thus impoverish Juan will suffer all over again with this problem.

Juan Dela Cruz will be much weaker this time because of receiving below minimum wage requirement for the workers. His P200 wage per day cannot suffice the needed basic needs of his family and is only enough for a kilo of fish and rice. How is it?

A school janitor in our school who was hired on a regular basis under an agency is only receiving P200 per day. After tax, social security and other deductions were made on top of the share deductions by the agency, the utility worker went home with only less than P200. Her salary per day is only enough for a kilo of rice and fish. Before she goes to bed, she remembered that she had to buy school supplies for her child. She reached his pocket and found it empty. That is only one of the shared experiences of those people who are receiving wages which are below the required amount. This time, there are still many companies which are not complying with the Minimum Wage Law and are giving their workers much less. In 2002 survey, about 4.9 million Filipinos had no jobs while 5.9 million others had no regular source of livelihood. He was lucky after all because he has still job to hold on.

In 2002 survey of the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS), it showed that almost 80 percent Filipino families had access to safe drinking water, thus 20 percent of the aggregate were sacrificing of the unsafe water to drink. Then, how much more this time that water is becoming less safe every year? We don’t know the case but we just hope that this problem may lessen. Juan Dela Cruz, indeed have so many baggage packed in his back that he needs to unload in an undetermined time.

Rising Street Children

Higher authorities that govern Juan Dela Cruz are not alarmed with this issue but Juan feels threatened with this problem which is the increase and downpour of the street children annually. As per record, Philippines is one who has the largest populations of the street children. Today, street children are approximately 2.5 million both living and working in the road of almost 65 cities. The End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT) asserts that those children were working as pickpockets and beggars and that around 80,000 children were either sexually exploited or driven to prostitution. Some of them are already endowed to illegal use of drugs such as rugby and the like.

Unemployed College Graduates

According to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), almost ¼ of the college graduates were unemployed. This is truly a dismaying fact that strikes me when I heard this information. Beyond doubt, Juan will surely bear again another issue to be resolved. I remember Mr. Faldas, my teacher in Econ 143, he said that our nation will be poorer if none of us will become entrepreneur. Employment will get behind the scene if all of us will seek employment as what the current trend suggests. We can only gain employment if there are people who are also willing to be an entrepreneur. That could be true, but still we need employment first to have a substantial investment in our business. Anyway, employment is everywhere. You can be employed if you are really skillful and ability-wise.

This issue may seem to be both blessing and curse to everyone. Notre Dame of Marbel University (NDMU) is one of the private Higher Education Institution (HEI) that proposed an increase in the tuition fee and other fees for the next academic year that was protested by the student leaders. This matter has been the annual hot issue in the campus since the school is proposing an increase every year and this increase is already dipping our parents to the ground. On the other hand, it’s a blessing to the entire NDMU personnel because of another wage increase. According to an Accountancy student, the main problem here is not the TFI but the worldwide phenomenon which is the inflation of prices from the primal and basic needs to the less needed things caused by the volatile fluctuation of oil price in the world market. In some sense, what she’s trying to bring about is the nonexistence of the blessing to the teachers because what’s then the purpose of the increase if the commodities have been already augmented.

Meanwhile, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) memorandum the proposed increase must be equal or lower than the national inflation rate. Last academic year’s inflation rate in TFI is 10 percent.

Juan didn’t want to miss this affair that give verge to his people for education and Juan will fight for this.

Prostitution existed way back in the time of Jesus Christ and now is the major problem faced by society and women advocates group. The major dens of prostitution were found in Manila, Puerto Galera, Davao City and Cebu City. How could we stop this? The Church advocates everyone to refrain from this unlawful activity. Let’s ask Juan then if how he feels about this? Surely, he may get dismayed and shamed.

Almost 400,000 cases of abortions each year is reported despite the fact that abortion is strictly prohibited and is illegal here. The fetus found in Malacañang Palace Restroom is one out of the 400,000 fetus that was not given life. The fetus that will grow as a future leader of our country, that can be an energetic baseball player, or a child who could bring home honor to our country. But those dreams cannot be realized anymore because the chances of their living are already diminished by their parents. Juan Dela Cruz is shouting to stop this crime.

This is the issue that shook every Filipinos head when they heard the $329 million ZTE National Broadband Network bribery scandal, of which $135 million will serve as the commission to the alleged Benjamin Abalos, former COMELEC Commissioner and one of the supporters of this project. Last month, Jun Lozada’s appearance can be the loosing point of all lies and can be the turning over of our relationship to China. This issue calls again for the same substance of topics and discussions in Congress and Senate which is the Graft and Corruption. This scandal makes Juan undignified all over again.

Global Warming is one of the worldwide phenomenon that tumbles all phases of development because of its vulnerable effect in business industries, environment and economy. We are all affected with this problem. Let us make our contribution with this predicament by saving our mother Earth through planting trees, minimize the use of plastic materials and reducing the consumption of energy because excessive utilization of power can make our planet warmer. Surely, if we do it all Juan feels relieve from all his problems.

Almost billion of US dollars are losing every year in our country because of air pollution. This loss is allocated in medical treatment, lost wages, low productivity and deaths that severely impact the Filipino’s quality of life (Social Issues in the Philippines, 2001).

The World Bank, in its study said that fine particle emissions result in about 2,000 premature deaths and 9,000 cases of chronic bronchitis in the country's four largest urban areas annually. These emissions of pollutants were largely blamed on public buses, jeepneys, utility vehicles, trucks and motorcycles that continue to emit visible smoke despite the government's anti-smoke belching campaign. For the past five years, there were 3.9 million land vehicles in the country (Social Issues in the Philippines, 2001). This one is another problem that threatened the quality of life of the Filipinos.

Those social problems are just few of the issues besieging the Philippines then and now. We should be aware of those issues because we are Filipino and we must share common problems and difficulties encountered by our country. We must not just share but we must think that we can do much for this problem.

TV cartoon shows and other childhood stuffs have already been part of my past. I’m 18 now and it’s been also 18 years of enjoying those stuffs. Learning the situation of the society and making the stand for it is what really meant to me this time and is the right thing that I can do for myself and to others.