Local leaders fight poverty

We are happy to note that there is now more involvement of local agencies and authorities in the implementation of poverty solutions. The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and various state agencies namely the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), through their respective heads, have forged an alliance to systematize and ensure the delivery of social services to poor families in the country. ULAP is composed of some 1.7 million local officials nationwide representing major leagues and associations where provincial governors, city mayors and vice-mayors, municipal mayors, councilors, provincial board members and the youth from all communities across the country are represented.

This grassroots level kind of development was the same concept suggested by this columnist in previous articles because we believe that the key in uplifting the condition of the poor lies in the effectiveness and efficiency of the local community leaders where they are situated. If these leaders from the smallest barangay up to the highest encompassing provincial authority will only work towards a common goal of reducing, if not obliterating, the incidence of poverty in their respective areas, then the benefits and the positive results will surely be felt on a national level. We learned that the national government has allotted a total of P5 billion initially for a local conditional cash transfer program that aims to provide food and money initially for 200,000 families for one year. Added to this is an earlier Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD Pantawid Pamilya Program’s initial 700,000 identified poor families, which now brings the total number of families assisted to almost one million families or about five million identified poor individuals. The idea is making the beneficiary families and their members become more productive through education, healthcare and nutrition with the goal of making them contribute to overall national development. Money for food and basic necessities is given to families, provided their children are sent to school to attend classes. Each child will also be provided with free health check up and immunization, while parents will be required to undergo livelihood training programs to help them find gainful employment.   

Another poverty reduction strategy that can be done within the above-mentioned framework is the relocation of squatters and residents of poor urbanized areas in Metro Manila to larger tracts of free land in the provinces. We know that extreme poverty exists in highly urbanized areas, especially in the metropolis, where overpopulation causes a strain on available resources. On the other hand, there are vast tracts of unutilized land across the archipelago. Based on a set criteria, the most eligible and qualified poor families can be assigned a specific tract of land to cultivate in identified host provinces. They can plant rice and other crops to earn income and on a large scale, help ensure adequate food supply for the future. With increased government subsidy in support of agricultural activities, land distribution can be a way to spread the income and uplift the poor, and in the long run, help narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. We have the available resources, our government only has to channel them for the benefit of those who are in most need.

All these, of course, is easier said than done. A program will be most successful with a close monitoring of program results and gains. With all its rich resources and continuing partnerships among representatives of both the government and private sectors, we are confident that we can successfully reduce poverty the way China and Brazil did. No less than local officials with strong and honest leadership and a true heart for the poor can do this. We shall be on the lookout for the most successful effort done by our local leaders for the benefit of our poor brothers and sisters. –Alejandro R. Roces (The Philippine Star)