Poverty is not our destiny

We have to win our war against poverty. For decades, we have treated poverty as our most persistent problem. Considered a curse by many. To some, dilemma. And to most Filipinos trapped in the vicious cycle of helplessness, destiny.

I’ve received many comments on my opinions that discussed poverty in our country. I appreciate that they took time to suggest, some in detail, on how this would end and uplift the lives of our citizens. For me, the issue on poverty must be given the utmost priority by our political, business, civic and even religious leaders. Our people have suffered enough, and the nation has been left behind by our neighbors.

The truth is most inconvenient. Uncomfortable. But liberating. Poverty is actually not our country’s real problem – it is the consequence of deeper failures. Poverty is the result of an economy that has not created enough high-paying jobs, an education system that is unable to equip our workers for modern industries, an agricultural sector doomed in low productivity and a government burdened by myriads of problems. And to further confuse our people, we have the collective penchant to throw all our hopes on our elections as the panacea to end all our debacles and hardships as a nation.

Ironically, the Philippines has all the attributes and ingredients to succeed. We can be a real economic powerhouse of Asia. We have more than 115 million resilient people who yearn to be led well. Our population is amongst Asia’s youngest. Our abundant natural resources is envy of others. Our strategic location has been historically acknowledged for world trade and military value. We have the one of the world’s largest English-speaking workforce. And globally, Filipino talents and work ethics are well respected and recognized.

Despite our strengths, around one in every six Filipinos still lives below the national poverty threshold. Many more are on the verge of joining. Sadly, they are the most vulnerable to unavoidable sickness, typhoons and floods and inflation. Criminality and health hazards lurk in their communities. Oftentimes, dignity is of no relevance to them anymore. Survival is.

The world of rich nations has proven a remarkable and consistent lesson. No nation has eliminated poverty through welfare alone. They won over poverty by creating quality jobs, more jobs. This happens when the economic structure is based on manufacturing and industrialization. A consumer-dependent and service-oriented economy like ours is prone to global shocks and could hardly create nor expand a strong middle class. Our backward agricultural sector could not even compete and evolve towards sustaining a solid national food security. We cannot fully provide our own needs. We could not export enough to produce more wealth for our people.

We have not competed well. Western countries led this exponential growth beginning at the turn of the 20th century. Their hegemony, let’s accept, is still very well grounded today. China, in modern history, lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty through rapid industrialization and overwhelmed the world with its current industrial might and challenged the US in world leadership. Vietnam transformed itself from one of Asia’s poorest into one of our region’s fastest-growing manufacturing economies by attracting foreign investments, modernizing agriculture and expanding exports. South Korea and Singapore were once poorer than the Philippines after the Second World War. Yet today, they enjoy some of the highest living standards in the world because they relentlessly pursued industrial development, education.

The Philippines must follow the same path. First, we must embrace large-scale industrialization. This is the only way to create enough good jobs for our people. This will provide stable, high-paying work even for those without advance degrees. Electronics, automotive components, shipbuilding, food processing, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy equipment and steel production must be our national priority. Support these sectors. Protect them. Insulate them from bureaucratic abuse and political pressure.

Every new production facility generates employment and income beyond its gates and also to a larger field – logistics, housing, retail, finance and services sectors.

Second, agriculture must become an attractive and profitable business instead of a mere survival activity of farmers who have no other option. Nearly 25 percent of Filipino workers remain dependent on agriculture, yet most farmers continue to earn barely enough to support their families. We must invest more in irrigation, farm mechanization, modern storage facilities, cold-chain logistics, research and direct market access. These will increase our agricultural productivity and the income of our farmers. Farmers must earn well from every harvest.

Third, we must put our acts together in having a robust infrastructure. We should rationalize the road map on building better roads, railways, mass-transport such as subways, ports, airports, flood control systems, internet connectivity, energy and eventually expand the developments outside of Mega Manila. Every province must be capable of attracting industries.

Ending poverty is not easy, neither is it impossible. Slogans, promises and misplaced expenditures will not defeat poverty. Good governance and the right economic structure will. No Filipino child must inherit poverty; such injustice must end. The day our nation overcomes poverty is the time that we finally fulfill our promise of freedom and human dignity.

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