Bright future must begin from top

The population of our country today is alarming. I think the best way to solve this problem is for the government to take the initiative of enforcing responsible family planning.

In the barrio where I live, most young couples have four or more children without a visible means of livelihood. Lucky for those few who were able to land a job overseas.

According to a religious group, our land area is capable of supporting a large number of people but our resources are not enough to support the population. We are depending largely on imported goods and are not producing enough for ourselves. Most parts of the country, including Metro Manila, are already congested.

Poverty is the No. 1 problem in our country today, followed by crimes and drugs, then traffic. It is also shameful to learn that our country is known as a kidnapping capital.

As we look around our Asian neighbors, they are all ahead of us economically. Singapore is peaceful, clean and orderly, for example.

Tuwing nawawalan ako ng pag-asa, tinititigan ko na lang ang maganda nating ugali. I am proud of our heritage. We are known for our hospitality, we have a positive outlook in spite of our condition, we have courteous and friendly young workers, and we have high literacy.

Huwag tayong mawalan ng pag-asa. There is still hope and a bright future but it must begin from the top. We must have an incorruptible, competent, honest and strong leadership.

PILAR BALOLONG, Dagupan City