WITH more than 11 million Filipinos currently living below the poverty threshold, Kalookan Bishop Cardinal Pablo David is calling for assistance to those in need that goes beyond dole-outs.
In a social media post, David urged stakeholders to consider providing assistance that addresses not only hunger and other immediate needs but also the underlying causes of poverty.
“Our social action work must go beyond dole-outs and relief work. Of course, when people are hungry, we feed them. When disaster strikes, we help them. But we cannot stop there,” said David.
“Sometimes the more charitable thing is not merely to feed a hungry family today, but to ask why that family has remained hungry for generations, and what must change so that their children will not inherit the same poverty,” he added.
The Cardinal said higher forms of charity should also be considered, including quality subsidized education, accessible healthcare, decent housing, and sustainable livelihoods and jobs.
“The goal is not to keep people permanently in dependency as victims but to restore their capacity to stand on their own feet,” said David.
He said providing pure dole-outs and ayuda is not enough, as such practices only promote patronage politics.
“Perhaps we should ask why so much of our national budget continues to be spent on patronage-based rather than genuinely program-based projects,” David said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country’s poverty incidence rate stood at 9.7 percent in 2025.
This is equivalent to around 11.08 million Filipinos living below the poverty threshold. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
