‘Candidates should focus on poverty’—INQUIRER.net survey
MANILA, Philippines—Poverty is the number one concern that candidates should focus on, INQUIRER.net’s survey reveals on Thursday.
The question that has been posted for a month on the site goes: “Which socioeconomic issue do you think candidates should focus on? Choose one.”
“Poverty” tops the list with 31.39% or a total of 1,877 votes.
“Economy” follows with 25% or with about 1,495 votes.
“Peace and order” comes third with 18.11% or about 1,083 votes.
“Education” is fourth with 16% or about 957 votes.
Fifth is “health care” with 5.32% or about 318 votes.
“Food security” got 4.18% or about 250 votes.
Meanwhile, there were mixed reactions.
A reader named Lewis posted: “Education is the most important agenda for all politicians, less knowledge will end to nothing.
Grace believed it’s the economy. She posted that if the economy is improved, all the rest goes with it. She admitted though that an improved economy may be too hard to reach. She said we shouldn’t look only into one aspect and focus also on education, especially of the poor children who are forced to work at an early age.
She said even if these children are provided with education but if they’re not given proper nutrition, they couldn’t perform well in school.
She added provision of health care wouldn’t matter if there’s no job or proper education. “Babalik at babalik din sa kalugmukan (We will go back to the same economic quagmire),” she said.
“Pag na-improve ang economy magkakaron na madami at maayos na trabaho, mapapag aral na nang ayos ang mga anak nila, makaka-afford na ng quality healthcare, dahil afford na bumili ng pagkain, maiimprove ang kalusugan, at malaki ang possibility na magtagumpay din mga anak nila. Kung lahat ng pamilya ganito, indi na kailangan magnakaw at kumapit sa patalim ng mga tao.”
(If we have an improved economy, there will be more good-paying jobs. Parents can now provide their children quality education and proper health care because they can now afford to buy enough food and mind their health. There’s a big chance for their children to succeed. If all families are like this, there’s no need to steal or do bad things.)
A reader named Ike wrote: “The Filipino voters should face the new era on how to value their vote…Corruption in our country is like a cancer. Stop picking politicians who pretend to be good government leaders”
Another reader named Rolan wrote: “This is very basic survey. Everything goes well when the economy is good. Improve the ECONOMY.”
A reader named Gerry wrote: “Food security! Even the voters are not choosing, almost neglecting it. The politicians might as well work on this gap provided by your own survey.”
Sofia wrote: “AS LONG AS THE PHIL. POLITICIANS CONSIDER THEIR OWN WELFARE FIRST AND FORMOST, POVERTY IN MY COUNTRY WILL NEVER DIMINISH.”
A reader with the initials H. N. posted this comment: “Education, for with well-educated people, over time all other issues will fall into place. Economic and health-related issues as well as poverty will be resolved with proper education.”
A reader named Marie Elizabeth Sy believed education should be the focus though she voted for health care.
She wrote: “Economy…is hard to control it. Peace and order will not exist because everyone’s selfish. Food security is not that essential if the economy is uncontrollable with many disputes. And it will make the poor lazy because you’re only going to feed them with more laziness.
“And since selfishness is present to us all. Businesses will not lower their food prices because there will be no profit for them in return and this will make our economy bad. But I voted for HEALTH CARE. Why? Because if you’re unhealthy, you will have “Poverty” and you won’t be able to work hard to buy food as well as to work properly to either educate yourself or pull yourself together or to send yourself to school or your kids.”
She added, “Without proper health care, people will suffer and there will be an increase in poverty, it will make the economy suffer, it will weaken peace and order and scarcity in food supply will suffer. Why? Because farmers must be fit and healthy in order to work hard for the industries to produce more food. Get it?”
Veny wrote: “The focus should be on education. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.”
A certain “Ambs” wrote: “I agree with Veny that education is most essential, but we need to focus more on the most basic thing which is food security ,,,,,,,i hope i could see hunger-free nation one fine day .”
