CHARLENE E.

MATUBIS BSA-IV
SPEECH 101

March 9, 2015
MRS. CECILE M. CALABIO

WHERE IS YOUR BROTHER?

(3 MINUTE SPEECH- POVERTY)
To our beloved and reputable Professor in Speech 101, Mrs. Cecile M. Calabio, and to my dear
listeners, a delightful morning to all of you!
We woke up once again in the Glory of our God, celebrating the gift of life. We are so blessed
with so many things that we definitely have to thank for, but, have you looked around today
beside yourself? Are you aware that someone woke up today as well, weak, and some even dying
out of hunger and thirst?
My dear countrymen, poverty is killing a lot of people every year. There are those kids suffering
from schistosomiasis living in slum areas, those babies who died from pneumonia because they
do not have a warm shelter to spend the cold nights and rain. And those old people who were
abandoned by their children because they cannot take responsibility for their parents anymore.
Why is this tragedy happening? Who is the one to blame? Pause for a moment and feel the
injustice. It is indeed painful, to see this happening in our very own country.
According to the latest survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority, in the first semester of 2014,
the Poverty incidence among Filipinos rose up to 25.8 percent from 24.6 percent in the year
2013. What caused this drastic incident, when this poverty threshold is increasing every year?
Can we point our fingers to the government all the time? Are we going to continue washing our
hands like what Pontius Pilate did?
My dear friends, I have a question to pose to each one of us? Where is your brother? Yes.
This is the question that the Lord himself asked Cain when he killed Abel, and the same question
that he is asking us every day. Poverty still exists because we are not taking good care of our
brothers. Poverty rate is increasing every year in response to our hardening hearts. The
government therefore is not solely liable for the poor, but each one of us who is always running
from our responsibilities. My dear friends, our blessings is not only ours. God gave it to us not
just for ourselves, but for us to share it with others as well. Therefore, we must not be so selfish
and greedy wanting everything for ourselves.
Because in the end, we cannot deny nor forget, that we are our Brothers Keeper, with one
Almighty Father called God.