Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Poverty and Politics
Commentator in the 2nd pix
Alleviating poverty in the Philippines is an elusive dream. Researchers and development workers on poverty alleviation have already gone rich, yet their subjects remain in that destitute state.
Former (ousted) president Erap was so popular because of his pro-poor stance as captured in his slogan, Erap para sa mahihirap. But if only Erap succeeds in his anti-poverty program, he could very well replace Dr. Jose Rizal as the next national hero.
Nobody in this world chooses to be poor, as being born poor is purely an accident. If only our leaders believe this premise, they have then that moral obligation to radically address the issue.
The vicious cycle revisited. How would poverty be really alleviated? Some said, it's through education, others said, through health services, agriculture, housing, population management, and what have you. Remember the vicious cycle, one is poor because he has no good education; he can not go to school because he is sickly; he is sickly because he lacks food and nutrition, and he lacks these things because he is poor.
Erap is coming back to the political arena. With the extent and magnitude of poverty in the Philippines, other presidentiables have indeed a good reason to be afraid of Erap. As Erap insisted he is not seeking re-election as president (because he admits he was unable to complete his term), he could still conveniently use poverty as his winning strategy. (JSF Blogs)
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