CBCP: Poor’s bitterness rising
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:29:00 07/09/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Warning to the Arroyo administration: A tide of bitterness and unrest is rising among the poor that, if unchecked, can lead to danger.
The warning was aired Tuesday by members of the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, who said the government should address the problem swiftly because the impoverished sector was becoming convinced that authorities were turning a blind eye to its plight.
“They are bitter in the sense that they feel things have not changed. There is no change in policy to help them. All they see is that the government gives out subsidies, but this is not helpful to all, and it will not last,” Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a press conference he conducted along with other CBCP members.
Pabillo warned that the bitterness, if not addressed, could escalate into something bigger that could threaten the national leadership.
“I don’t see something [being] organized, but unrest has been observed. The people have so many grievances and, you know, that could be ignited,” said Pabillo, who chairs the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace.
“If the people are really angry and cannot take their hardships anymore, they can be easily incited by anyone who wants to rule. I hope we can avoid that,” he said.
The press conference was held at the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City, where CBCP leaders and their public sector partners were holding the second and last day of the National Rural Congress.
The bishops said the Rural Congress, the second CBCP conference focused on the rural poor after 40 years, was looking into the problems faced by the marginalized members of society and the lack of government response to their grievances.
Hard to buy food
Pabillo, who also serves as the bishop of Tondo, Manila, said life had been “difficult” for the poor.
“They find it hard to buy food. The prices of all goods have risen and their salaries are stagnant. They are really feeling the brunt of it. There are also no jobs [to be had],” he said.
In June, the inflation rate surged to 11.4 percent from a year ago—the highest in 14 years. The price of rice, the national staple, jumped by 43 percent, and that of food in general, by 17.4 percent.
Pabillo likewise said the poor had become disillusioned and resentful and were feeling that the government had abandoned them.
He said doles and subsidies—such as the one-time P500 subsidy for “lifeline” power users—could do only so much to appease the poor.
The bishops said the government could start addressing the matter by fast-tracking the review of the oil deregulation law and the expanded value-added tax (VAT) law, which, they said, were gravely affecting the poor in the provinces and cities.
Only on Monday, the CBCP president, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, Iloilo, aired a call to the Arroyo administration to reevaluate the two laws.
“We agree that there should be an economic review of policies and laws that affect the prices of goods. Because in any increase in the prices of commodities, the ones who suffer most are the poor,” Lagdameo said.
Displacement in Cavite
At Tuesday’s press conference, Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus, Cavite, said he had also observed a sense of disappointment among the people in the province, where industrial zones stand on what were once agricultural estates.
According to Tagle, the government did not install safety nets to help displaced sectors in Cavite cope with the new realities.
He said that while the conversion of agricultural lands into industrial complexes had created jobs, it had also displaced many agricultural workers: “One sector is being displaced but it doesn’t get enough attention.”
Bishop Pablo David of Pampanga said the CBCP’s Rural Congress was showing that the people were disappointed in the non-enforcement of laws.
“Their constant refrain is that there are laws, but none is being followed. So one of our problems really is good governance,” David said.
Pabillo expressed apprehension that economic managers might move slow on the CBCP call for a review of the oil deregulation and VAT laws.
“The study might be too long and delay the solution. The people would just suffer more,” he said.
Pabillo said the CBCP was not giving administration officials “a deadline.”
“They know the situation, and they should be sensitive enough to realize that the people are suffering. The longer they delay this, the more difficult it is to find a solution. They should take it urgently,” he said.
Asked whether the bishops had specific provisions in the two laws in mind, Pabillo and Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro said the CBCP had “no technological solution” and was leaving the issue to the economic managers.
“That is why we are explaining our principles, [which demand] that each person should be given his basic needs [to allow him] to lead a dignified life,” they said.
‘Ingredients of disaster’
The Protestant National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP) Tuesday added its voice to the CBCP call for a review of the oil deregulation and VAT laws.
“In joining the call, the NCCP affirms its opposition to those twin policies from the beginning. These are ingredients of a social disaster,” it said in a statement.
“We appeal to our legislators to harken to the cries of the growing majority of suffering people: Repeal the oil deregulation law. Scrap the 12 percent E-VAT. Enact laws that protect the citizens of this republic and ensure the survival of future generations. The people deserve no less,” it said.
Monday was the first time the Catholic bishops collectively expressed opposition to the oil deregulation law. They said soaring oil prices had put basic commodities farther from the reach of the poor.
They also said the VAT had become too oppressive for many Filipinos.
Pampanga Archbishop Oscar Cruz and Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, who had previously called for the suspension of the VAT, said it had increased the number of people living in poverty.
At the Palace, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the consolidation of her administration’s social reform programs, saying “there is still time to generate social impact if efforts are targeted.”
“[This is to allow the programs to] directly address the impact of the adverse global environment,” the President said in a statement she read before the start of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.
Under Administrative Order No. 233, existing programs of the social welfare and health departments, the Government Service Insurance System, the Social Security System and other agencies concerned with social welfare will be clustered into a national social reform program.
Neri to SSS
Ms Arroyo said the clustering would be headed by the SSS administrator, who would be “granted Cabinet rank.”
Tuesday, Romulo Neri was named by President Arroyo to head the SSS.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said Ms Arroyo wanted the social reform programs consolidated to ensure that these would be implemented efficiently and would benefit the poor.
Andaya said AO 233 would also prevent overlapping among the programs. He cited as instance the Department of Education’s Food for School program, which could overlap with the social welfare department’s conditional cash transfer program.
“It’s making sure there are no leakages, and that the recipients are the rightful ones,” he said.
Andaya also said the existing social reform programs under the 2008 budget amounted to some P45 billion. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño
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