Go beyond dole outs, Manila government told

MANILA, Philippines- The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program is another one of the Aquino government’s band-aid solution to widespread poverty and hunger in the country. It is a symptom of the many problems of the Filipino workers and people, among which are the high cost of education and health services. It also shows that the real value of workers’ wages have sunk so low in recent years.

The program, funded by the Asian Development Bank, is a clear indication that the Aquino government is merely continuing its predecessor’s economic policies. There is no “pagbabago (change)” as far as economic policies are concerned. Like the anti-people Arroyo regime, the Aquino government is still not creating decent livelihoods for all.

What workers need right now is a substantial increase in the minimum wage. A P125 wage hike, for example, would amount to P2,500 per month – almost double the P1,400 cash grants being handed out by the government. A decent share in the immense value that we workers are creating would go a long way, more than cheap doleouts and “family development sessions.”

The big local and foreign capitalists are sending their children to the best schools and providing them with expensive health care, while we workers struggle to send our children to low-quality schools and get the most minimal of medical care. There is no social justice in this kind of situation. # –RC Vanilli and Gwendell Gandang Reina