Can you afford to let your parents die out of starvation?

Wow that is so horrible. That made me kind of upset where I started getting teary-eyed thinking about it happening.

Oh this is very sad, I don't know much about the Philippines but i have noticed in many crountries where there are people who are suffering from food shortages, and live what we call below the poverty line, some of the people who run these countries are mega rich, there seems to be a huge gap between the heads of the countries and the people. With the wealth that is in this world at the moment there should not be any hungry people at all, and I have always thought that we should fix this world up in this area before we spend mega amounts of money exploring other planets, clean up our own backyard before we go looking for other place to ruin as we have done with this planet... As for this particular situation, this is very very sad, my heart cries when I read about the non care that some people give in this world.

Yes it is indeed very sad when situations come to such that children for whom parents give their everything, don’t even look back once they are grown up and standing on their own feet. I don’t know about western or developed nations, but I do believe this is a problem with developing nations as here in India too, we read in the papers of old couples left to die with no children caring for them. As you said, the son might have had his own reasons, but that is no way to treat a human being. You are very correct but I think the State cannot deny its responsibility too. In most developing nations, the opportunities for growth and diversification for our children are very limited so parents take on most of the burden of establishing them with the result that they spend everything they earn on a child’s education and development without thinking or saving for their own future. You see the choices are so limited and having a lucrative career (hence a good lifestyle) is so important, that most middle-income parents end up spending their entire earnings on a son / daughter’s future. Then they expect that same child to take care of them, which might not be possible always. And herein where the State should step in but it does not. If a parent is spending his/her entire earning on bringing up a child, s/he is giving a worthy citizen to the nation too for which it should be the responsibility of the nation to look after that parent in the old age. But this does not happen in nations like ours. Our parents spend their lives looking after us, we look after them and also our children (in the process we hardly have any money left to look after us), then again we expect our children to look after us and their own family and the cycle goes on. As it is, we are paying enough taxes already but most of it goes to fill the coffers of our corrupt political parties. It would not hurt us much more if we had to shell out a few extra notes in order to get some sort of social security for the aged.

Boy that is really uncaring. Reasons or not - no matter what he should have made sure that his parents had enough and as you said he could check on them. Couldnt he have taken them in his care and rented the house for additional income? He is a wicked son.

Definitely, NOT! Like you, even if I am married already and I am very far from them, I NEVER fail to check their status everyday. As much as I can, I help them but not to the point of making them rely to me totally. I can't imagine how others can afford to eat a very good mean while their parents have NOTHING at all to feed their hungry stomach. Goosh! That is so horrible! I only have one sibbling and I am not relying much on him. I do what I can do for my parents' best interest.

I promised myself to take care of my parents forever, no matter how bad our relationship will be. However, there are people who refuse to get help because they are too pride. I don't know how it's in the Philippines, but we can never know what their son has done in order to help them - so we can never blame him. The story is sad and i hope that if i'm in the same situation as his, i'll be able to do my best to help my family.

Wow, this is really a sad story. I couldn't imagine how come the son doesn't have the heart to at least go and check his parents just to make sure they are alright. If I am so poor I will try to give them at least rice to eat. I will never treat my parents like that, it is very cruel to do that to parents. Unless the son has a mental problem, that is understandable. Maybe the son is having that?

it is so difficult to believe that this is a true story indeed. here in the philippines, neighbors will usually be taking care of old folks even they have no relationship by blood with them. there are so many cases in davao city whereby the neighbors took care of a disabled neighbor or old folks with no relatives to count on. as for this case in particular, the neighbors must have been thinking that the son is taking care of his parents. thus, no one even bothered to take a peep at those old folks. if only the son had talked to the neighbor of his parents and had provided some provisions for his parents this couldn't have happened at all.

That situation sounds really bad. However, we do not know precisely the exact circumstances of that situation. We do not know the relationship between the son and the parents, or if the son was suffering from stress economically himself. How many people was his wage attempting to feed? If this family has American relations, the American relatives could also be suffering from financial issues as we just had the housing bubble burst, and the Americans may not be able to send money home anymore. * The Philippines is undergoing a rice price shock, and while food there is relatively cheap from an American point of view, from the point of view from the poor over there, it is not cheap at all. * Information on Philippine rice price shock * http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2008-04-29&sec=4&aid=57785 * As an American on a small fixed income, I too am seeing prices rise. In America, it is not anywhere near as bad as those poor in third world countries, but getting by is getting a bit tricky. * In America sadly, parent neglect is common. It is not a problem of food or price. In the past, it was common for multiple generations of families to live in the same city or often in the same home. Now we are flung to the four corners of the country or planet. Parents are regulated to nursing homes when unable to attend to their full needs and left unvisited. Sometimes they are abused.

OMG how sad is that! I could not imagine not being there to check on my parents and to let them starve..I have to talk or see my mom everyday and even my grandma..My day is not right enless I talk or see them...And if I knew they didn't have food or was low on food I would give them money or go buy them food and take it to them if they wanted me to or not...My family comes first before anything else!

This is such a sad event! I am sorry to hear of this. How can a son who lives so close let this happen to his own parents? It is shameful that a son would allow this to happen to his parents, to die hungry! Oh, that is awful. My daughter even now at 13 says she will always make sure I am ok, she even says I can live with her when she becomes rich hahaha! I know she dreams, but she is so very sweet to think of me that way. It is unthinkable that a child would allow his parents to fall away like this. Very sad, very sad indeed.