Escudero: Poverty is the enemy

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. ARNOLD ALMACEN/Poe-Escudero Media Bureau

POVERTY is the real enemy of the people.

This was the assertion of independent vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero as he rallied all candidates, including his opponents, to unite against the scourge of 26 million Filipinos.

Escudero, who is running with Sen. Grace Poe under the banner of “Gobyernong may Puso,” said there will never be an end to criminality or secessionism until the government is able to address poverty.

“For as long as there’s a father who can’t feed his children three times a day, as long as there’s a mother who can’t send her children to college, and as long as there’s a family who can’t afford to pay the medical bills of their loved ones, there will always be someone who will resort to crime and there will always be someone who will take up arms and go to the mountains,” Escudero said.

The aim of the “Gobyernong may Puso”  is to address the root of the problem. Poverty, he said, is the ticket’s public enemy No. 1.

Addressing voters during the ABS-CBN “Harapan ng Bise” debate Sunday night, Escudero said the country needed leaders with the courage and compassion to provide what the people truly need.

“This is a serious problem and we need people who are ready to solve this problem,” he said. He added that he is ready to use his experience and talent to fight poverty while serving as vice president.

Escudero reiterated their commitment to provide P300 billion or 10 percent of the national budget to help farmers and fisherfolk, which comprise the poorest sector in the country, and P12.4 billion to fund the education of indigents in state universities and colleges.

He also said they would allocate P1 trillion or one-third of the budget for Mindanao, which has 11 of the Philippines’ 20 poorest provinces.

“One trillion for Mindanao so that the land of promise will become the land of fulfillment,” Escudero said.

Escudero also bared for the first time their plan to allocate P100 billion for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), which will fund a new department and additional embassies to cater to OFWs’ needs, increase the legal assistance fund for migrants, and pave the way for the creation of a pension fund for OFWs and the portability of their health insurance.