Getting out of the vicious cycle of poverty

One question that we will always ask ourselves is when are we (or at least majority of our people) going to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty and finally get rid of the tag "Third World Country." As Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus said, "I think it’s quite possible to eradicate poverty from this world. I think we can halve the poverty level in Bangladesh by 2015." This comes from a man who created the Grameen Bank that offers micro loans to very poor borrowers to help them become self-employed and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday.

Let me say that I fully agree with Mr. Yunus . . . that if a country and its people make it a policy and not just a political statement (to get the votes of the masa) to eradicate poverty, we, too, could do it. That can be done if every Filipino would make it his goal and really fight for it. For a start, what we need to do is first identify the stumbling blocks to fighting poverty?

If you ask me, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in our fight against poverty is the use the name of the poor in vain by political parties to attain personal and selfish political ambitions. These political parties blatantly cite the poor in their political slogans and in launching their political careers, which we know too well becomes a family business later.

Why do you think these so-called "pro-poor" political parties get instant crowds in their rallies? Because a lot of these poor people live in slums or shanties in Metro Manila or even here in Metro Cebu and it is fairly easy for politicians to lure them with cash to listen to their campaign (truth to tell, the poor doesn’t really care to listen to those boring speeches, they’re there for the money) speeches.

Perhaps as a quick fix, we should ask the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disallow political parties from using "masa" or the poor in their party name. The reason is obvious: name a political party that use the name of the poor and eventually succeeded in reducing the poverty level in this country or even in their localities.

Another group is the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA). Where do you think they get angry or irate people to march in the streets? Yes, for 30 long years, the CPP/NPA has done what it could to prevent the economy from growing (which is why they destroy the cellsites of Globe Telecom and damage other infrastructures that would have otherwise helped our economy grow).

Last Tuesday, Oct.10, The Star came up with an editorial entitled the "Bankrupt Movement" referring to the communist party in this country. Let me reprint a paragraph of that editorial to show you that we are not alone in our thoughts about how the insurgency has slowed down our economic growth. "This is how communist rebels intend to help the poor; they blow up an international airport under construction in Silay City that could boost trade, tourism and economic development in Western Visayas. They scare away badly needed foreign assistance by attacking a P5-billion project that is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and subcontracted to a Korean company."

On this statement alone, you will understand why I fully support the call of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and President Arroyo for an all-out war against the communists. The sooner we put a stop to this insurgency, the faster we can move forward in eradicating poverty.

I guess the same thing can be said of the Muslim question. During my chat with my dear friend, Justice Undersecretary Lanto Macabangkit, who is a loyal Muslim brother, I told him that I have been to many places like Kuala Lumpur or Qatar, which are predominantly Muslim cities, yet I still have to see the beautiful lake Lanao or Marawi. Alas, my motorcycle buddies refuse to ride to those places for fear that an armed man might just fancy our motorcycle and forcibly take them away.

Of course Mac is sorry to hear that my group refuses to visit these Muslim cities in our own country. That’s because of the presence of too many armed groups, who believe that Philippine laws are not enforced in those areas. If only our fellow Muslim brothers realize the potential that Muslim communities can get from foreign or even domestic tourism, there will be a lot of money for everyone.

Finally, let’s talk about education. As we all know, education is the quick fix to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Yet, why does poverty continue to linger in this country? That’s because something is terribly wrong with our educational system and many people throughout the country agree with us on this observation.

This is why last Oct.4, our very own publisher Manong Max Soliven wrote, "DepEd Secretary Jesli "Jing" Lapuz and I discussed the sorry state of Philippine education and his plans to try to improve the situation. He said he wished that, like the old days, education from grade school through high school and college or university was under one single department namely, the Department of Education, instead of a "Higher learning" (college) being entrusted to another agency, the CHED (Commission on Higher Education). This truncated set-up didn’t make sense, he asserted — and I wholly agree. Junk the CHED, I say, especially under its present unworthy and inadequate leadership."

The solution to reduce poverty is to attune our schools to meet the demands of our labor force and believe me, you will see poverty disappear! A case in point is the Sisters of Mary School Boys town in the town of Minglanilla and the Sisters of Mary School Girls town in Talisay City, whose graduate, Dr. Erwin C. Novilla, was this year’s 3rd placer in the 2006 Medical Board. Their graduates are easily absorbed by Cebu’s job market.

In another scenario, the Aboitiz Construction Group Inc. led by the Metaphil Division had a MOA with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Region VII to set up the Metaphil-TESDA Institute for Technical Training (MTITT). This MOA was designed to address the lack of skilled workers in certain industries like metal fabrication or shipbuilding.

Since when did students enroll to become shipbuilders, huh? Get our DepEd to link the curriculum to the available jobs out there and that’s the way to lick the poverty of our people.

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns in The Freeman can also be accessed through The STAR website at www.philstar.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow entitled, "Straight from the Sky" shown every Monday only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable at 8 p.m. Bobit’s columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com