Why do we keep taking in Badjaos and Aetas during the Christmas holidays? They not only beg in the streets--they eat and sleep in the streets as well, and heaven knows if they can even locate public rest rooms. They all go back to their villages firmly believing how cruel, callous, discriminatory, and uncharitable Metro Manila residents are. Of what social and cultural value, therefore, is this annual "exchange visit"?

We should take in members of minorities only if we can provide housing and three meals a day for them, making their visit a pleasant vacation, which we can't even do for the victims of disasters.

If we have to take these Filipinos in at all, someone should build a cultural festival showcasing how beautiful they are, what their arts and crafts are, and how much they deserve to be treated well.