I wanted to say it to you personally, but i guess i wasn’t worth your tim. I tried,  gave my best shot at it, but guess im no good for anyone, i failed… again.

I understand what you’re going thru, and im not evil or insensitive enough to get jealous of your time, especially now. I get worried for her too, and for you. I just can’t bear it when I know your scared, I wanted to share your fears.

Sure, I didn’t know you fully well, but i was pretty sure with what i felt; that you are someone worth loving. I told you you’re gonna be my last, because this time, I’ll make it sure to last forever. And it came to me, that making it forever wasn’t just my decision, coz if I wanted it my way, then it would! But I can never have it done by my way alone.

You were not my first, nor my longest, but you are my last.

Good night bebekoi, this might just be the last time.

Sabi nila (actually sabi ko rin), ang Birthday ay panahon ng pag-alaala at pag-limot. Naalala natin na tumataba na talaga tayo mula dun sa nakaraan nating birthday, naalala natin na magdadagdag na tayo ng isang taon sa sagot natin pag tinatanong tayo ng edad. Sa panahon ding ito, naalala tayo ng ating mga kaibigan, gaano man sila kalayo o katagal ng hindi nakakausap, para bumati (salamat din sa tulong ng friendster sa pag-papaalala at pagiging kartero).

Kahapon nung medyo bata bata pa ako (21) may nakapasok na insekto dito sa kwarto ko sa dorm, parang bubuyog na sing laki lang ng bangaw, napansin ko lang nung parang may mala-bangaw na tunog akong naririnig, eh ang ingay at naiirita ako, yun naman pala, kawawang bubuyog-bangaw na-trap sa loob ng plastic ng kalaidoscope cd.

So katuwaan ko sa pagkatrap niya, pinisil ko yung plastic at yung katawan niya. Saka ko nakita yung unti unti niyang pangingisay, yung parang nalulunod sa dagat at naghahanap ng taong sasagip, yung dahan dahan niyang pagkamatay.

Sabi ng tropa kong si Brian Kinney, hindi daw dapat isine-celebrate ang mga birthday, ang dapat daw na ipinagkaka saya ay yung mga panahon ng tagumpay. Sabi ko naman, eh ano ba sa akala niya yung mabuhay pa ng isang taon kasama ng pamilya at kaibigan, di ba achievement yun? O yung mabigyan ka pa ng pagkakataon na hanapin yung mga bagay na kulang sa yo, siguro naman masaya yun di ba?

Dun ko naalala may Diyos nga pala at isa lang akong bangaw-bubuyog sa Kanya.

Kasabay nung pag-alala, kasama rito yung paglimot sa mga masasamang karansan sa ating buhay, paglimot din sa mga bagay na hindi na natin dapat ginagawa. Tipong New Year, naghahanda ka din, nagababatian kayo, pero yung mas mahalaga yung iniisip mong mga Resolution, ang kaibahan nga lang sa birthday, walang paputok.

Pag-alaala at Paglimot. Pagpapanibago.

***

Salamat sa mga bumati sa kin. Salamat ke Mama at Papa, sa aking mga Kapamilya, ke Bebekoi, sa mga Kaibigan mula nun pa, sa mga ka Alyansa, at sa mga bago kong Kaibigan at Kapatid sa Kalayaan.

Take not the road less traveled

One of the things that strike me as being very “UP Diliman” is the way UPD students can’t seem to stay on the pavement. From every street corner that bounds an unpaved piece of land, one will espy a narrow trail that cuts the corner, or leads from it. Every lawn around the buildings sports at least one of these paths, starting from a point nearest to the IKOT stop and ending at the nearest entry to the building. The trails are beaten on the grass by many pairs of feet wanting to save a fraction of a meter of traveling, no matter that doing so will exact some cost to the shoes, or, to the ubiquitous slippers, especially when the trails are new.

What do these paths say about us, UP students?

One could say that the UP student is enamored with Mathematics and Pythagoras, hence these triangles formed by the pavement and the path. Many among you would disagree.

Others could say that the UP student is naturally countercultural. And the refusal to use the pavement is just one of the myriads of ways to show his defiance of the order of things. This time, many would agree.

Still, others will say that the UP student is the model of today’s youth: they want everything easier, faster, now. The walkable paths appeal to them because they get to their destination faster, and presumably, with less effort. Now that is only partly true, and totally unfair.

These trails weren’t always walkable. No doubt they started as patches of grass, perhaps overgrown. Those who first walked them must have soiled their shoes, stubbed their toes, or had insects biting their legs, all in the immovable belief that the nearest distance between two points is a straight line. They might even have seen snakes cross their paths. But the soiled footwear, sore toes, and itchy legs started to conquer the grass. Other people, seeing the yet faint trail, followed. And as more and more walked the path, the grass gave in and stopped growing altogether, making the path more and more visible, more and more walkable.

The persistence of the paths pays tribute to those UP students who walked them first – the pioneers of the unbeaten tracks: the defiant and curious few who refuse the familiar and comfortable; the out-of-the-box thinkers who solve problems instead of fretting about them; the brave who dare do things differently, and open new opportunities to those who follow.

They say how one behaved in the past would determine how he behaves in the future. And as we leave the University, temporarily or for good, let us call on the pioneering, defiant, and brave spirit that built the paths to guide us in this next phase of our life.

We have been warned time and again. Our new world that they call “adulthood” is one that’s full of compromises, where success is determined more by the ability to belong than by the ability to think, where it is much easier to do as everyone else does. Daily we are bombarded with so much news of despair about the state of our nation, and the apparent, perverse sense of satisfaction our politicians get from vilifying our state of affairs. It is fashionable to migrate to other countries to work in deceptively high-paying jobs like nursing and teaching, forgetting that even at their favored work destinations, nurses and teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals. The lure of high and immediate monetary benefits in some low-end outsourcing jobs has drawn even some of the brightest UP students away from both industry and university teaching to which they would have been better suited.

Like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths are the easiest to take.

But, like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths take longer to traverse, just as individual successes do not always make for national progress. The unceasing critic could get elected, but not get the job done. The immigrant could get his visa, but disappear from our brainpower pool. The highly paid employee would be underutilized for his skills, and pine to get the job he truly wants, but is now out of his reach. And the country, and we, are poorer because of these.

Today, the nation needs brave, defiant pioneers to reverse our nation’s slide to despair. Today, we must call upon the spirit that beat the tracks. Today, we must present an alternative way of doing things.

Do NOT just take courage, for courage is not enough. Instead, be BRAVE! It will take bravery to go against popular wisdom, against the clichéd expectations of family and friends. It will take bravery to gamble your future by staying in the country and try to make a prosperous life here. It might help if for a start, we try to see why our Korean friends are flocking to our country. Why, as many of us line up for immigrant visas in various embassies, they get themselves naturalized and settle here. Do they know something we don’t?

Do NOT just be strong in your convictions, for strength is not enough. Instead, DEFY the pressure to lead a comfortable, but middling life. Let us lead this country from the despair of mediocrity. Let us not seek to do well, but strive to EXCEL in everything that we do. This, so others will see us as a nation of brains of the highest quality, not just of brawn that could be had for cheap.

Take NOT the road less traveled. Rather, MAKE new roads, BLAZE new trails, FIND new routes to your dreams. Unlike the track-beaters in campus who see where they’re going, we may not know how far we can go. But if we are brave, defiant searchers of excellence, we will go far. Explore possibilities, that others may get a similar chance. I have tried it myself. And I’m speaking to you now.

But talk is cheap, they say. And so I put my money where my mouth is. Today, I place myself in the service of the University, if it will have me. I would like to teach, to share knowledge, and perhaps to be an example to new UP students in thinking and striving beyond the limits of the possible. This may only be a small disturbance in the grass. But I hope you’ll come with me, and trample a new path.

Good evening, everyone.

By Mikaela Irene Fudolig
UP Graduation 22 April 2007

If I were the rain, could I connect with someones heart, as the rain connects the eternally separated earth and sky?

“nobody cares”
somebody answered:
“not even the carebears?”
then another:
“not even kier?”
then:
“not even zoren?”
lastly:
“not even zorro?”
all written by different people.

AS:

AS chairs:
“push button to eject seatmate”
“push button to eject urself”
“push button to kill teacher.”
“push button to eject teacher”
….reply: “it’s jammed! We’re doomed!”

AS cubicle:
“Donate your bulbol here..” tapos may chewing gum na pagdidikitan. …

AS chair :
“you know bobo? bobo is you!”

AS 1st floor CR:
“if you forget the past, then you porget the purious..”

AS 1st floor CR uli:
“I’m a simple gay “
tapos me sumagot
“sira! Dapat ‘Im simple and gay!’ Taga peyups ka ba? duh! “
tapos me sumagot ulit (with matching arrow pa na nakaturo dun sa reply)
“sira ka rin! yung simple is used as an adjective tapos yung gay is used as
a noun. kaya ok lang yung simple gay nya!”

CHEM:

Chem chair:
“push button to spray acid on prof’s face.”

Another chem chair:
“You Boron!!!”

BIO:

Bio chair:
“Push cadaver to haunt teacher.”

FO Santos:
“SA MGA NAGTATAPON NG BASURA DITO… bawal.”

ENG’G:
Sa Men’s CR, facing the urinal:
“Hawak ko saking mga kamay ang kinabukasan ng bayan!”
Reply:
“the future you are holding is very small.”

GAB:
sa likod ng armchair sa isang room sa GAB:
“takas ng ward 7″

MATH:
sa cr sa may math building:
“SUMAPI SA NPA! “
may sumagot:
“PAANO? “
may sumagot pa:
“MAGFILL UP NG COUPON AT IHULOG SA PINAKAMALAPIT NA DROP BOX SA SUKING TINDAHAN!”

sa math building, sa likod ng isang “teacher’s chair” sa 3rd floor:
“BABALA: asawa ni babalu”

sa math 3rd floor, sa isang upuan uli.
“you’ll NEVER find what you’re looking for”
May nag-reply:
“find x.”

sa math 3rd floor, sa isa pang upuan uli.
nakasulat sa armchair:
“F*CK DA WORLD! “
ta’s may sumagot:
“F*CK U TOO!
–WORLD.”

3rd floor math cr:
“kaibigan, pagkapatos mong umihi, paki PLUS mo naman, hehehe.”

UPIS
sa loob ng music room.
“maam _______(music prof) boses palaka! “
tas may sumagot
“nakarinig ka na ba ng boses ng palaka “
tas may sumagot uli
“weh “
tas may nag-react uli
“oo, sabi kokak!kokak!”

VINZONS:
Wall ng vinzons
“Do not steal. The government hates competition”

men’s cr sa Vinzon’s:
“remember: the hands that clean this toilet are the same hands that cook your food.”

men’s cr waaaay above the urinal:
“if you can reach this, the fire department wants you!”

NIGS:
sa isang upuan:
“f*ck nigs!”
may nagreply:
“who’s nigs?”

MAIN LIB
Sa isang lamesa ng main lib, filipiniana section:
“UP STUDENTS HAS BECOME PATETHIC”
tapos may sumagot…
“mali pang grammar at spelling mo, halatang di ka taga UP”

KALAI:
nietzsche-”god is dead”
God- “Nietzsche is dead!”

SC:
sa labas ng PNB:
“in case of emergency break ass and push butt”

AS waiting shed
Ad from a Korean: “I need a English tutor.”
At may nagdagdag: “Badly.”

Don’t be a stranger. Just be strange

You are The Hierophant

Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.

All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.

The Hierophant’s purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant’s only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE

THAN THIS:

TO LAY DOWN ONE’S LIFE FOR

ANOTHER

BIG BROTHER’S FINAL WORDS

Para Sa 3G boys 06-07:

Gusto ko sanang magsulat ng magandang final message… yung mahaba, yung malalim, yung nakakahamon ng utak, yung nagpapatawa at nagpapaiyak, kaso ewan, saan saan napupunta yung sinusulat ko. Mahirap pala.

Meron sa inyo mahaba ang buhok, meron din mahaba ang kwan. May mga gabing sa sobrang haba, hindi mo na alam kung anong oras mag-uumaga, minsan dahil sa pag-aaral, o sa pagco computer, o dahil sa himbing ng inyong tulog. Meron pagkakataon na nakakaubos ng aking mahabang pisi, ayos lang, bandang huli, mahaba haba ding panahon (o baka nga hindi na) na maririnig niyo yung mga pangaral ko. Sa UP mahaba ang pila kaya ang kailangan, mag deodorant para di ganong pawisan. Pero ang pagkuha ng inaasam na UP diploma, kailangang pinag-papawisan. Gaya ng kailangan habang nasa paghihintay sa pila, pinag-titiyagaan. Ang kaso nga lang, ang pangarap hindi nadadaan sa pag-hinhintay lang, kailangan inaabot. Wag lang sana kayong abutin ng mahaba sa inyong mga kurso.

Ginusto ko sanang magpalalim, yung tagos hanggang puso, yung baon na baon, yung sagad na sagad parang kwan ulit… parang pagsasama ninyo o natin (alin man ang nauuna). Kapag malalim daw ang sugat, dapat tahiin, kaya kung may sinasadya o di gaano akong sinasadayaang masugatan hayaan niyo akong magtistis (tistis, hindi ito yung parte ng male reproductive organ ng mga bisaya, tistis ang tagalog ng Surgery, ayoko kasing gamitin ang salitang opera, baka isipan niyo naman kasi kantahan). Ngayon pwede na kayong mag-enjoy, kahit hanggang sa kalaliman na ng gabi. Pakiusap ko lang sana, wag kayong gaanong maingay, nakakaistorbo sa mga naglalaba. Pero sige lang, ngayon ko naman kayo hahayaang mag-ingay, sa inyong mga napiling larangan, sa inyong mga org na kinabibilangan, sa inyong mga adhikaing ipinaglalaban, basta siguraduhin niyo lang na ang inyong pag-iingay, may lalim. Dahil kung wala, talagang magagalit ang naglalaba at kayo’y masasabon. Kaso, bakit ka naman matatakot masabon kung sa tingin mo tama ka naman? Sige lang, tuloy mo lang ang iyong pinaglalaban kahit masabon ka ng paulit-ulit. Pero kung alam mong mali ka na, magpalaba ka naman! Dahil ang damit hindi puputi, kung walang kukusot. Wag lang sanang pumuti ang de-kolor, dahil pangit ang kupas. Wag niyong hayaang mamuti na lang kayo at walang kakulay- kulay ang buhay. Dapat walang kupas. Walang iwanan, walang kalimutan, walang kupas.

Nakakatawa ba? Ganun talaga. May mga bagay na kailangang idaan sa patawa-tawa. Masarap makitawa sa kaibigan, huwag mo lang hayaan na pagtawanan ka ng iyong mga kaibigan o ng iyong mga kaaway, dahil may ibubuga ka naman, wag mong hayaan na maging katawa-tawa ang sarili mo.

Ang hirap talaga pag nauunahan ka, minsan akala nila nabubuhay ka sa panggagaya. Sa totoo lang, hindi naman. Kasi kaya mong managanip para sa sarili mo. Kaya ang mga pangarap ko para sa ‘yo wag mong pakinggan, ikaw ang bumuo ng mga pangarap mo. Mangarap ka, yung malayo sa nakasanayan, yung walang bahid ng mga kulay o pulitika ng kasalukuyang sistema. Alam mo naman kasi kung ano yung maganda, lalong alam mo yung hindi maganda. Mahirap kung palagi ka lang puro puna. Ang magandang mga bagay dapat pinupuri, ang pangit, hindi dapat pinapaganda, dapat sa pangit sinusubukang baguhin.

Naku, napahaba na yata! Baka naubos ko na oras mo. Ang oras pa naman, di dapat sinasayang. Sa totoo lang ang gusto ko talaga magsulat ng mga bilin sa inyo, eh may tula na pala si Lacaba na ganun ang tema. Nabasa ko na lang pagkatapos kong gawin tong piyesang ito. Nakakainis! Baka lumabas pa akong copycat niyan… malay ko ba na meron na pala? Hayaan ko na nga lang na siya na ang magkuwento. Tutal ganun naman dapat tayo sa buhay, marunong magparaya.

Ang hirap talaga… gaya ng pamamaalam ko sa inyo…

TAGUBILIN AT HABILIN
Jose F. Lacaba

Mabuhay ka, kaibigan!

Iyan ang una’t huli kong
Tagubilin at habilin: Mabuhay ka!

Sa edad kong ito, marami akong maibibigay na payo.
Mayaman ako sa payo.

Maghugas ka ng kamay bago kumain.
Maghugas ka ng kamay pagkatapos kumain.
Pero huwag kang maghuhugas ng kamay para lang makaiwas sa sisi.
Huwag kang maghuhugas ng kamay kung may inaapi
Na kaya mong tulungan.

Paupuin sa bus ang matatanda at ang mga may kalong na sanggol.
Magpasalamat sa nagmamagandang-loob.
Matuto sa karanasan ng matatanda
Pero huwag magpatali sa kaisipang makaluma.

Huwag piliting matulog kung ayaw kang dalawin ng antok.
Huwag pag-aksayahan ng panahon ang walang utang na loob.
Huwag makipagtalo sa bobo at baka ka mapagkamalang bobo.
Huwag bubulong-bulong sa mga panahong kailangang sumigaw.

Huwag kang manalig sa bulung-bulungan.
Huwag kang papatay-patay sa ilalim ng pabitin.
Huwag kang tutulog-tulog sa pansitan.

Umawit ka kung nag-iisa sa banyo.
Umawit ka sa piling ng barkada.
Umawit ka kung nalulungkot.
Umawit ka kung masaya.

Ingat lang.

Huwag kang aawit ng “My Way” sa videoke bar at baka ka mabaril.
Huwag kang magsindi ng sigarilyo sa gasolinahan.
Dahan-dahan sa matatarik na landas.
Dahan-dahan sa malulubak na daan.

Higit sa lahat, inuulit ko: Mabuhay ka!

Maraming bagay sa mundo na nakakadismaya.
Mabuhay ka.
Maraming problema ang mundo na wala na yatang lunas.
Mabuhay ka.

Sa hirap ng panahon, sa harap ng kabiguan,
Kung minsan ay gusto mo nang mamatay.
Gusto mong maglaslas ng pulso kung sawi sa pag-ibig.
Gusto mong uminom ng lason kung wala nang makain.
Gusto mong magbigti kung napakabigat ng mga pasanin.
Gusto mong pasabugin ang bungo mo kung maraming gumugulo sa utak.

Huwag kang patatalo. Huwag kang susuko.

Narinig mo ang sinasabi ng awitin:
“Gising at magbangon sa pagkagupiling,
Sa pagkakatulog na lubhang mahimbing.”
Gumising ka kung hinaharana ka ng pag-ibig.
Bumangon ka kung nananawagan ang kapuspalad.

Ang sabi ng iba: “Ang matapang ay walang-takot lumaban.”
Ang sabi ko naman: Ang tunay na matapang ay lumalaban
Kahit natatakot.

Lumaban ka kung inginungodngod ang nguso mo sa putik.
Bumalikwas ka kung tinatapak-tapakan ka.
Buong-tapang mong ipaglaban ang iyong mga prinsipyo
Kahit hindi ka sigurado na agad-agad kang mananalo.

Mabuhay ka, kaibigan.
Mabuhay ka.

Kuya Rbee aka

Ruzzel Brian Cruz Mallari

THERE IS NO DAY BUT TODAY!

Can surveys help us arrive at the truth?

Introduction

The basic function of any demographer is to be able to describe a (human) population of interest’s primary characteristics: size, structure and, spread over a geographical boundary. It is his sworn task to track how these factors change through time and illustrate the period and tempo at which these changes occur. More of an attempt to describe, it is the capability to relate these population characteristics with the social, political, economic and, cultural phenomena that transpire—which makes the demographer a social scientist in his own right.

The domain of social science is a path difficult to tread. Different from the study of the natural sciences, individual human nature and behavior, is basically fleeting, ever-changing, and more often than not unpredictable. Thus the idea of modeling how an individual reacts to a certain stimuli in his environment, or how one person’s actions changes the environment to which he is situated in, becomes a demanding exercise. Imagine then the demographer’s task which accounts not only of certain individuals or groups, but the entire population itself!

If one is to consider describing the whole population, then it is but logical to demand that each individual is interviewed separately, and that a record exists for each individual (universality); and that the interview is conducted in reference to only one fixed point in time (simultaneity) for purposes of comparability and protection against maturation effects. Thus, a census of the population enables the demographer to gather information from all the elements, such that when the data gathering is flawless, the results of the census may be directly admitted as universal truth.

Indeed it is the desiderata of every demographer to have a complete enumeration of all the members in the population. But since, the topics that a demographer may see himself interested in covers a wide range of issues, the ideal state of complete enumeration may not always be reached. As an example, data that can be derived from the Philippine Censuses is limited only to basic individual and household characteristics and events such as migration. More than the issue of financial constraint, it is rather unwise for a census instrument to be a voluminous document; otherwise both the respondent and interviewer will be harassed at the end of every session yielding! Furthermore, undertaking a census for every conceivable topic a researcher wished to engage in is ambitious if not an outright frivolous exercise.

In the proverbial chef and soup pot analogy, one does not necessarily need to consume the bowl in order to taste the contents, it is enough to stir the pot and sip from a ladle to describe the taste. A census may not always be necessary to describe or understand a particular event as it suffices to just do a survey on the item of interest such that the survey questions directly address the focus of the study. This not to say however that the survey is inferior to a census in utility, as both are fraught with their own shares of advantages and disadvantages.

            But up to how much then can we depend on surveys to get our answers? The scientist in us would readily say that it depends on how good our sampling of the population is, that is how much we stirred the bowl, and how much of a teaspoon should sip. How this is exactly done, we leave the methodological and theoretical considerations to the charge of the statisticians. Suffice it to say that for us demographers, the sample within which we get our responses from must be representative enough to lay ground for us to generate estimates at the national and sub-national levels.

UPPI- DRDF and its Surveys

Since its inception in 1964, the UP Population Institute has been an active stakeholder in the development, implementation, analysis, and publication of survey undertakings in both national and sub-national issues of concern. By linking with government agencies particularly the Population Commission and the National Statistics Office, the faculty and associates of the UP Population Institute serve in various capacities, providing technical expertise in consultancy, training and actual implementation of surveys in the country.

The NDHS or National Demographic and Health Surveys (then NDS or the National Demographic Surveys), a series of nationally representative surveys done every five years provide up-to-date information on fertility and childhood mortality levels; nuptiality; fertility preferences; awareness, approval, and use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; and maternal and child health— have been conducted by the NSO, Macro International together with the UP Population Institute. Just recently, members of the Institute have conducted a further analysis of the latest (2003) NDHS and released four monographs dealing with issues on Maternal and Healthcare utilization, and Health-seeking behavior; Contraceptive use, discontinuation and switching behavior; Determinants of Private Sector Sourcing of Contraceptives and; Unmet need for Family Planning in the Philippines and its Regions.

Together with its twin-head, the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, the UP Population Institute has been (in)famous in conducting the Young Adults Fertility and Sexuality Survey (YAFS).

First conducted in 1982, the YAFS1 sought to address primarily the gap in information on sexual and fertility-related attitudes and behavior of Filipino youth, as those topics were mainly considered taboo, the finding of the survey caused ripples in the national scene. YAFS2 conducted in 1994 expanded to include not only sex and-sex related issues but provided information on some significant events and institutions affecting young adolescent behaviors.

The latest of the YAFS series conducted in 2002 expanded even more to include all sixteen regions of the country, interviewing nearly 20,000 young adult respondents ages 15-27. For the first time, a new set of questionnaires were used to gain information on the practices of the Muslim Filipino Youth.

Sexuality, fertility and reproductive health are still the main focus of the study. Respondents were asked questions on dating and sexual behavior (including premarital sex, commercial sex, and same-sex experience), cohabitation and marriage, family planning, knowledge on STDs, HIV/AIDS, utilization of health services and attitudes and perceptions on divorce, live-in, gender identity and orientation, and abortion. Other non-sexual risk behaviors that were included in the survey are: smoking, drinking alcohol, substance use, violence, depression, and suicide and school suspension.

Characteristics such as the adolescents’ age, religion, religiosity, self-esteem and values, mass media use, residential history and information abut the respondents’ family, school, work, community, and peers were also gathered by YAFS3.

Apart from these surveys, the Institute also bears further analysis of the Philippine Elderly Surveys.

Conclusion

            In the pragmatic sense, surveys allow us a cost and time efficient means of gathering information over a large number of respondents without actually examining the entire population. If arriving at the truth means validity and reliability of our findings, then appropriate statistical tools maybe applied to arrive at these. 

In the theoretical sense however, surveys allow us to gain some glimpse in a system constantly in flux. That by dipping our ladles at certain fixed points in time, we can be able to analyze and describe the idea that we are measuring in the population we are interested in.

The idea of truth in the light of social science may take several meaningful constructs depending on what philosophy one is practicing. For our purpose then, we use the term truth to refer to an objective representation of reality and the contingencies that impinge on it. Moreover, the phrase arriving at the truth posted in the question suggests a journey by which we must allow ourselves to actively participate in and that there arises some necessary terminal stage on which we will all ultimately and finally succumb into. But is there a final destination when it comes to surveys anyway? When observing an ever changing system of events, there is none. The truth we get from surveys is as only as good as the time it was taken and the period it wished to describe at. Change will always be apparent.

            Perhaps the even more exciting idea to examine is what the survey findings can do to alter reality. As in the case of elections survey results, it offers no clear guarantee of electoral victory, though it is already safe to assume that one’s candidate does indeed have name recall. It may be even more practical to assume that leading in a electoral survey will become a bane to one’s candidate as it may set trends for competitors to prey on.

However, the utility of surveys and survey results for us demographers and social scientists is not merely to have tools for our mental exercises, but more so enable us to act and advocate the results we get into more concrete forms; it must not be enough for us to stay and merely describe, we are called to act and initiate: by getting some general findings at a certain point in time, we are able to raise warning signals or make directions to which national policies and programs can build on and make our collective lives a little more better.