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SUNDAY

MAY 2, 2010

2 SECTIONS 20 PAGES

VOL. 111 NO. 200

CORRUPTION BLAMED FOR POVERTY, LOW INVESTMENTS AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Bets all see overseas contract work as mere stop-gap measure

Special Report

CANDIDATES ON POVERTY AND JOBS

give us a brief, 500-word reply to this and related questions about jobs and job- creating investments. We provided a brief background to the question we asked. 1. POVERTY.

H

Proportionate to population, we have the highest percentage of poor people in East Asia: a third of all Filipinos still live below our own poverty line. Question: How do you propose to deal with Philippine poverty? 2. JOBS. a. We sorely lack the direct investments—both national and foreign—that cre- ate decent jobs. Question: How do you propose to deal with economic opening; with job crea- tion and with creating the political stability that investors need? What do you propose to do (if you think you should) about the protectionist economic provisions in the 1987 Charter? b. The bulk of our jobless (2.8 million people) are poor, young, undereducated, rural residents. Question: How do you propose to ease their plight—considering that they are unsuited for the jobs in BPO and IT that are opening up? c. What is your view of overseas contract work? Do you regard it as a stopgap measure or as a development strategy? Interestingly, all candidates blamed corruption for the poverty situation and

low level of investments and job creation. All bets were also for doing something about the rural and agricultural sector to reduce joblessness. On doing anything about the Constitution’s protectionist economic provisions, to spur more foreign investments and foreign-driven job creation, some bets are more willing to recognize the reality of globalization than others who want to strengthen protectionist policies.

Where there is total agreement is the need to develop the domestic economy to the point that no Filipino will ever be forced by the need for income to work abroad for his family back home. The two most religiously driven candidates were most vehement about the great social cost of the OFW phenomenon.

OW do the presidential candidates propose to deal with Philippine poverty?

We ask the eight leading contenders for the presidency of the Philippines to

Aquino,

Benigno 3rd “Noynoy”

Liberal Party

DEALING with poverty.

In the immediate short

term, we will take care of the most vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society through programs such as conditional cash transfers, dedicated, among others, to keeping healthy children in school. We will imple- ment an expanded condi- tional cash transfer pro- gram by increasing the coverage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Pro- gram (4Ps) for the poor- est households and en- sure transparency and NGO/PO participation in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluat- ing.

The dividends of good

governance arising from the eradication of corrup- tion and other forms of leakages from the economy will be invested in services that will em- power our people espe- cially the poor. We will provide them with univer- sal health care and qual- ity basic education, em- phasizing vocational and technical training to

➤AquinoA2

De los Reyes, Juan Carlo “JC”

Ang Kapatiran

DEALING with poverty.

One of the 11 Founding Principles of Ang Kapa- tiran Party (AKP) is Op- tion for the Poor and Vul-

➤De los ReyesA2

Estrada, Joseph “Erap”

Pwersa ng

Masang Pilipino

DEALING with poverty.

I have always said that

my economic agenda will have the objective of re- viving the economy and

➤EstradaA2

BY I. CAÑETE DEMAIN

SOME readers have written to ask what I meant precisely by “an aha! moment” when I dropped the term some mornings back. According to the psychologist John Kounios, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal, “An

‘aha’ moment is any sudden comprehension that allows you to see something in a different light. It could be a solution to a problem; it could be getting a joke or suddenly recognizing a face. It could be realizing that a friend of yours is not really a friend.” The moment can be funny or solemn. A solemn aha! moment surely was Sen.

Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd’s burning-bush recognition during the month of mourning over his mother that he could/must run for president of our country. Aha! moments are relatives of “senior moments” and “Eureka! moments.” They have

a distinctness about them that cannot be captured by ordinary adjectives. In earlier times, moments were just joyous, sad or dull. William Safire traces the origin of the “Eureka! moment” this way: “In ancient

Greece, Archimedes supposedly stepped into a bath and noticed how much the water rose to match the volume of his body, and it suddenly occurred to him that here was a way to calculate the volume of any irregular object . . . Legend has it that he then raced naked into the streets, shouting, ‘Eureka!’” “Senior moment” has gained currency because of the growing ranks of the aging in

developed countries. The neuroscience professor Guy McKhann describes it this way: “We can’t come up with a name. We know all about the person . . . but no name . . . In despair, we turn our attention to something else. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the name pops up. The prototypical senior moment.”

Gordon, Richard “Dick”

Bagumbayan Party

DEALING with poverty.

Poverty is an absence of choice. We are poor be- cause many of our people are uneducated. Educa-

➤GordonA2

E-mail: icdemain@yahoo.com

Perlas, Nicanor “Nick”

Partido Kalikasan

DEALING with poverty.

The first pillar of my platform deals with eradi- cating massive poverty and inequitable growth. We do this through, among others, a vibrant broad-based economy. Our program includes in- creasing government re- sources for the sustainable modernization of agricul- ture and intensifying in- fra-structural develop- ment where the country most needs it. Rural devel- opment is an urgent pri- ority for integral sustainability and poverty eradication. Over 70 per- cent of the poor reside in rural areas. We will allo- cate resources and infra- structure in alignment with local plans for sus- tainable integrated area development. We will build robust local econo- mies on the basis, among others, of Filipino innova- tions that our state col- leges and universities are churning out by the hun- dreds. We will advance sustainable agriculture to- gether with strategic mi- cro-finance initiatives to

➤PerlasA2

Teodoro, Gilbert Jr. “Gibo”

Lakas-Kampi CMD

DEALING with poverty.

Government cannot re-

solve poverty; it can only set the stage for people to get out of it. If its primary purpose is to resolve it through intervention, then Government will just be creating a moral hazard in taking on a burden that is not fully its own. In the end, only the individual can free himself or herself from poverty because the government can only cre- ate the preconditions for a favorable atmosphere to alleviate it.

My goal is to make the Philippines a favorable platform for investments both domestic and for- eign, subject to some con- ditions like the protection of workers’ rights, of the environment, and of our farmers. We have to increase in-

vestments in such areas as public infrastructure and to implement policies such as transparency in governance, to boost con- fidence in our economy and in our people. A vi- brant economy will create more jobs and provide

➤TeodoroA2

Villanueva, Eduardo “Bro. Eddie”

Bangon Pilipinas

DEALING with poverty.

My comprehensive pro- gram to end poverty starts with generating, growing and developing SMEs on the basis of our green, biodiverse and sustain- able agricultural, agro-for- estry and fisheries pro- gram. We aim to inspire our people to create wealth for themselves and the nation, rather than handing them the empty promise of jobs, food and housing that no govern- ment will ever be able to provide.

In other words, the Villanueva government will be a government for the people that will be supported by the people, in a nation advanced by

the people. Sino pa ang magsusulong ng PAGBA- BAGO? EDDIE AKO!

EDDIE IKAW! EDDIE

TAYO!

➤VillanuevaA2

Villar, Manuel Jr. “Manny”

Nacionalista Party

DEALING with poverty.

All efforts of the next president should be focused on ending poverty. Given the chance, I intend to start the ball rolling on day one—implementing pro- grams and projects that will have maximum impact on poverty alleviation.

The Philippines could be likened to a company that is on the brink of bank- ruptcy; and a turnaround must be made and it can be done. It can be done, under an able leadership and with everyone’s active participa- tion. I am an experienced leader, both in the private and government sectors. The lessons I learned from running my businesses and my experience from years of being a statesman will help a lot in steering this coun- try forward. Add compassion to that experience and competence and I believe that we can make a significant headway

➤VillarA2

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