Ateneo Social Science Research Center
Hinuhà Vol. 4: List of Articles
November 2006
♣ Hope Behind Bars by Robert Caezar J. Fausto, Leo B. Ricafrente, Karl Anthony V. Banan, Rachel U. Bustamante and Annabel G. Tocloy
♣ Quest for a Better Life by Rachelle M. Rapiñan and Maribel A. Aliñar
♣ Persistent Provider by Sarah V. Luares, Joe Anna Marie A. Albino and Ian Jasper A. Balingbing
♣ Resisting Poverty by Michelle A. Baron, Fe B. Din, Aiza M. Labios, Kean Evan Bobby E. Papaya and Angela May R. Rodrigo
♣ Utilizing Idle Time by Edelyn B. Rogando, Marife D. Fullante, Raffy G. Estoque and Errol A. Pederio
♣ A Summer of Polling by Sarah Luares, Raffy Estoque, Michelle Baron, Rachel Bustamante, Marife Fullante, Rachelle Rapiñan and Joe Anna Marie Albino
♣ Revisiting the Philippine Fieldwork of the Seisen University Reports from ASRP
♣ Rare Experience with the Japanese by Raffy G. Estoque
♣ A Season of Sharing: Reflections on Feeding Activity
Hinuhà
Hinuhà Vol. 4: Path of Endless Hope
Hinuhà Vol. 3: Faces of the Informal Sector
Hinuhà Vol. 2
Hinuhà Vol. 1: More Bicolano Families Cannot Afford Proper Food
Hinuhà Vol. 4: Path of Endless Hope
The Pulse Asia's Ulat ng Bayan survey conducted in June 24-July 8, 2006 indicated that there is a low level of public hopefulness among Filipinos. It recorded the lowest level of hopefulness in the Philippines since July 2002, with 21% seeing the country as hopeless, 30% undecided, and 49% remaining hopeful. In addition, it found that three out of ten Filipinos would like to move out of the country.
The President's State of the Nation Address (SONA) gave us just something to look forward to in terms of mega-infrastructure projects, but it failed to inject new dose to the diminishing capital of hope of the public. Teodoro Locsin Jr, in his commencement speech in the 40th anniversary of Ateneo Professional Schools said of government, "The lack of money may be the root of many personal problems but not economic stagnation and national drift. The root of that is lack of hope and the absence of overriding national purpose." On the other hand, he cited the Gawad Kalinga (GK), a non-governmental movement, as that which gives an "empowering hope" to the people which is supposed to be the function and task of the President's SONA.
Nowadays amidst the political turmoil, economic stagnation, social indifference to public issues, hope is becoming as elusive as meeting people's basic needs, such as housing, education, work, etc. Many people do not have what they need to live a decent life. It is so easy for them to be carried away by this tide of hopelessness. Still, in the face of slack and scarcity, people may creatively look for and devise ways to get by. Each day, however difficult, is a struggle for survival; each day a story of ingenuity and a reason to hope.
In this issue, Hinuhà attempts to document and relate peoples' struggles for survival, stories of ingenuity, and their reasons to hope in the midst of their everyday hardships. These are the people who strive to rise from the weight of hopelessness, confront the faceless despair of loss of loved ones, abandonment, imprisonment, homelessness and unemployment, and continue to appreciate the little triumphs of passing daily challenges. Their amazing struggles, stories and reasons to hope are lighted paths through dark times. We see these paths unfold in the struggles of a jobless and homeless father of two kids, a girl who wants to pursue her studies in spite of the odds, a housing project's beneficiary, prisoners, and unemployed youth.
In addition, this issue shares the experiences of the Ateneo Student- Researchers Pool (ASRP) in their feeding activity in Sabang, Naga City last year, the 2006 Bicol Poverty and Governance Public Opinion Poll, and the Philippine Fieldwork of the Seisen University last July 28-August 4, 2006.