Out-of-the-box approach

Will surprises never end? The recent (March 2013) Social Weather Stations Pre-Election Survey shows Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano going up to No. 2 spot after being No. 3 since the start of the senatorial campaign.

The survey, fielded from March 15-17, shows the top four candidates as Loren Legarda (National People’s Coalition), Alan Peter Cayetano (Nacionalista Party), Francis Joseph Escudero (Independent) and Joseph Victor Ejercito (United Nationalist Alliance).

Legarda was chosen by 59 percent of registered voters polled, Cayetano rose from 3rd to 2nd place, with 57 percent of intended votes, Ejercito and Escudero, each with 48 percent of intended votes.

The question for the moment is how Alan became No. 2 in the last SWS survey. If he maintains his upward climb, could he be No. 1 in the next survey? His supporters like to think so, and credit his current rise to his out-of-the box approach to popular concerns and aversion to traditional politics founded on patronage and personalities.

And, his supporters say, it’s possibly because of Alan’s focusing on three issues close to the “common tao’s” hearts and lives: Presyo, Trabaho, Kita (PTK). This makes up a platform derived from his “Listening Tours” around the country.

Alan explained that since the country is benefiting from the efforts of the Aquino administration to end graft and corruption, it is now time to tackle the problems plaguing those Filipinos who have yet to feel the effects of the 6.6% GDP growth enjoyed by the country.

“Their problems are centered on three things: Mataas na Presyo, Kawalan ng Trabaho, at Kakulangan sa Kita. These are what we need to solve to make sure that all Filipinos are able to feel the country’s economic growth,” he said. And these top three concerns of Filipinos must be addressed all at the same time.

On Presyo concerns, he has called for a decrease in gas prices. “I have long been fighting for a decrease in VAT on oil because it only results in high prices that the poor cannot afford,” Cayetano told Dagupan jeepney and tricycle drivers recently. They revealed that they are losing more than half of their day’s earnings just to pay for gas and boundary charges, leaving them with a few hundred pesos to take home.

On Trabaho, Cayetano proposed to tackle the twin problems of unemployment and underemployment by pushing for an increase in infrastructure spending to create more jobs and by promoting an education for employment program, as he believes that “better education translates to better jobs.”

On Kita, Cayetano plans to end the need for 5-6 lending by increasing business owners’ access to capital. “Panahon na upang maging entrepreneur-friendly ang bansa natin. 5-6 ang problema. Kailangan may pangpuhunan ang mga tao,” he said.

The prevalent “5-6” practice is a loan operation where debtors are charged a hefty 20 percent in interest as opposed to bank rates that average around 6 to 8 percent or 15 percent for rural banks.

Market vendors told Cayetano that they resort to borrowing from “5-6” operators because they have no other means to make ends meet and because borrowing from legitimate financial institutions is a difficult process.

Cayetano is also keen on promoting Pinoy-made products. He laments that local industries such as fishing, farming, furniture making, and shoe making are suffering from the lack of government support. Strengthening existing cooperatives, as well as establishing new ones, will keep these cooperatives afloat.

Cayetano kicked off his campaign for the 2013 elections with a low-key visit to the Pritil public market in Tondo, Manila. Here the vendors got to know Cayetano up close when he joined them for a breakfast of pandesal, cheese, hotdogs, and instant coffee. “I want to start the campaign with the people I’m fighting for,” he said.

From there, the senator also took the time to talk to the senior citizens of Bulacan and experience a day in the life of coconut farmers in Legazpi, furniture factory workers in Cebu, and construction workers in Makati.

Since he became a senator, Cayetano has become well-known as a staunch graft and corruption fighter and an education advocate. But perhaps his most outstanding quality is his ability to listen to ordinary Filipinos.

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The man who continues to beguile women with his ballads, Julio Iglesias, embarks on his 2013 world tour with Manila Hotel as his first stop. His show, to be held Saturday, April 6 at the Manila Hotel tent, is sponsored by Manila Hotel, Aces Maine & Links Corp. and PAGCOR.

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Iodine deficiency is the world’s single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation. It is especially damaging during the early stages of pregnancy and in early childhood. In their most severe form, iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) include cretinism, stillbirth and miscarriage, and increase infant mortality. Even a mild deficiency can cause a substantial loss of learning ability — about 13.5 intelligence quotient (IQ) points. This is significant given that what is considered to be an “average” IQ level is from 90 to 110 IQ points.

Iodine deficiency among the populace in general also results in a loss of economic productivity. This can negatively affect progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals to which the Philippines has committed itself.

According to the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, iodine deficiency affects about two billion people worldwide.

In the Philippines, about 19 percent of children 6-12 years old, 26 percent of pregnant women and 34 percent of lactating women are still found to be in a state of moderate to severe iodine deficiency. Severe iodine deficiency in pregnant women can result in higher fetal and prenatal mortality and gross physical and mental retardation termed cretinism.

Since the 1920s, starting in countries like Switzerland and the United States, iodine began to be added to natural salt, resulting in “iodized salt.” This is regarded as the simplest and most cost-effective way to introduce adequate amounts of iodine in people’s diets until today. 

In the Philippines in 1995, through the ASIN Law, all salt sold in the country was mandated to be iodized. 

Because of the ASIN Law, four in five households in the Philippines now have access to iodized salt. Yet data from 2003-2008 show that despite this continuously expanding access, Filipinos’ iodine intake levels as measured in pregnant and lactating mothers and children 6-12 years old, have markedly declined.

Today, April 4, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the National Nutrition Council, is hosting a consultative workshop with key salt industry players to look into this issue.

Says (FDA) Director Kenneth Y. Hartigan-Go: “The consultation aims to create a knowledge base on best practices by both industry and government.”

Key government agencies and civil society organizations and NGOs, will also participate. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition will support the workshop and provide insights.

Says UNICEF Philippines Country Representative Tomoo Hozumi: “Over the last many decades, Universal Salt Iodization has proven to be one of the most cost-effective public health interventions in the world. For every $1 invested in salt iodization, there is an estimated return of anywhere between $12 and $30 in terms of productivity gain and the prevention of intellectual impairment in the concerned society.” 

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