3 senators inject political agenda in calling for people’s freedom from poverty

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Loren Legarda and Cynthia Villar. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The government should step up efforts to free Filipinos from poverty as the country marks its 115th celebration of Independence Day, two senators said on Tuesday.

“A truly independent country should be marked by freedom from hunger, poverty and despair enjoyed by every Filipino,” Cayetano said in a statement.

“Decentralizing government and fair funding for small businesses will help us free more Filipinos from poverty; effective decentralized governments units and small business are a key to creating jobs,” he said.

Senator Loren Legarda echoed the same statement, saying Filipinos should have a shared vision of freeing the nation from poverty.

Legarda noted how the country’s economy grew by 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013, faster than China and its Asian neighbors.

“But the greater challenge is translating the impressive numbers into more job opportunities, stable employment, equitable access to quality education, health services, and other social services, and safe and disaster-resilient communities for Filipinos,” she said.

Legarda said the government should invest heavily in the countryside – establish livelihood training programs, and provide technical and financial support to farmers and fisherfolk.

Conservation of the environment, she said, should also be part of growth initiatives, stressing that the decline of ecosystems has been determined as one of the underlying drivers of disaster risks and poverty.

“Thus, protecting ecosystems, which involves rehabilitating forests, cleaning rivers, and stopping pollution, among other actions, must be done now,” Legarda said.

“The government has been instituting reforms that promote inclusive growth and everyone is enjoined to support these initiatives because like our forefathers, who shared the vision of independence and united towards their fulfillment, we can only free our nation from poverty if we all work together to make good use of the opportunities that come with an improving economy,” she said.

For his part, Cayetano emphasized the importance of involving local government units (LGUs) in implementing the national government’s social and economic programs to ensure that the country’s economic gains would be spread across all regions and all sectors, and not only concentrated in urban centers.

“In the fight against poverty, there must also be freedom from traditional governance, where decision-making is centralized in the national government. There should be rural empowerment,” he said.

Local government units, the senator said, should be empowered and actively involved “if we are to bring genuine development to the grassroots, and the regions, especially in rural areas.”

“Decentralized decision making is a key to creating jobs, lowering prices, and increasing wages and an important part of my PTK – Presyo, Trabaho, and Kita– agenda,” said the senator.

Senator-elect Cynthia Villar, meanwhile, urged the Filipinos to strive more to become “financially independent.”

“I believe that the only way to empower people, especially the poor, is to help them to be economically or financially independent. We should not just give alms or dole outs; we should equip them with necessary skills and know-how so they can fend for themselves,”   Villar said in a separate statement.

With still high unemployment rate of the country, Villar said entrepreneurship “is the way to economic freedom and progress.”

“Nowadays, poverty is what keeps people from becoming really independent. This is the reason why we have been promoting entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty for young and old people alike because it creates jobs,” she said.

Villar said people should not be afraid to start small businesses, especially the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and that the absence of capital should not dissuade one from venturing into business noting that there are a lot of organizations that could lend them capital.

She disclosed that their real estate company was born out of a small gravel and sand business.

“When Manny resigned from his job in 1975, he borrowed P10,000 from a bank and bought two second-hand trucks, which he used to deliver gravel and sand to real estate developers. With the help of God, coupled with sipag at tiyaga (perseverance and patience), our business grew until we became the biggest home builder in the country,” she said, referring to her husband and outgoing Senator Manny Villar.

“Senator Villar and I are living examples of what entrepreneurs can accomplish and achieve,” she added.

Also known as “Misis Hanepbuhay”, Villar said she wants to review government’s incentives to businesses particularly to micro, small and medium enterprises as well as tax incentives to labor-intensive businesses that generate more employment to Filipinos such as manufacturing, and agriculture.