The trap of a welfare state?

When I came to The Netherlands 26 years ago I was very much impressed how the basic services such as health care, education, income security, etc. in this country are being taken cared of by the government.
Everybody here is required by law to have a health insurance which covers almost all health care needs. The monthly payment for health insurance may be relatively high, ranging between € 110,- to € 140,- per person per month. But once you get sick you'll realize that this is all worth it, as you can really concentrate on just getting better, not to have to keep on counting your cents with every treatment you have to undergo. Even the most expensive treatments, like that for cancer, heart bypass operations and kidney dialysis, are 100% covered by health insurance.

Elementary and high school education are compulsory for all children up to 16 years of age. And since it is compulsory it is also provided for free. By the way, the Dutch government is very serious about the education being compulsory. Parents can pay big fines if their children skip school or arrive late on a regular basis. Facilities, such as special transportation, are also provided for handicapped children so that they can attend school. And for higher education, there is a system of student financing that grants students a loan for their expenses while in college. If the student finishes his/ her study on time, this loan is transformed as a gift, meaning that one need not pay it back.

People who don't have any income from work or otherwise, get a monthly social security payment. This is not much, but enough to pay one's basic needs for shelter, food and clothing.
These are but just a glimpse, from a very long list, of what is taken cared of by the government in this country.

So actually, when you think about it, with all these social systems in place, one really doesn't need anybody but the government in this country. It's really a good thing that the government takes care of its people. This is what a welfare state is like.

In the Philippines, the situation is quite different. The basic services of education and health care are accessible to only those who have the money to pay these services. In the Philippines, the social security does not come from the government, but from our family and social network. Unlike in The Netherlands where the people seem not to need anybody but their government, in the Philippines the people need everybody around them. While in The Netherlands, people can do without others, we in the Philippines can't do without others. It's unfortunate that the Philippine government is not capable of taking care of the basic needs of its people. But on the other side of this misfortune lies a positive side - we Filipinos have learned to help each other and make the most of what we have. This is what the spirit of bayanihan is like.

Is having a welfare state incompatible with the spirit of bayanihan? Or is it possible to combine the best elements of a welfare state and the spirit of bayanihan?

Life is so relative

Life is so relative. During the heights when the typhoon Ondoy caused a lot of destruction in the Philippines, I was practically hooked on Facebook, looking at all the news and YouTube films showing the extent of the damage to lives and properties. As a Filipina abroad I felt so helpless not being able to do anything (though I contributed to the relief operations) to help my kababayans.
At about the same period I was trying to address a complaint of a resident in a neighbourhood. As a city councilor I get these sort of complaints every now and then. This resident complained about the placing of a children's playground right in front of her house. According to her this is causing her a lot of stress, with all the noise the children were making. I went to visit her to hear out her complaints, and I could not help recalling what my father used to say about the noise of playing children, that "when you hear children playing, the angels are around". I was then tempted to share this with the woman complaining, but held back. I had to remind myself that life is so relative. For this woman, this problem was real and probably her biggest concern at that moment.
When I was watching a house (and all those people on its roof) being washed away by the flood caused by the typhoon Ondoy, in one of the YouTube films, I could just imagine how terrible it was for all those people out there. For those people, what was happening to them was real and was their biggest concern at that moment. I know that life is so relative. I just sometimes find it difficult to deal with it when I live in two perspectives.