Press Release
June 12, 2008

Jinggoy on Independence Day observance:
"More and more Pinoys getting caged in poverty and desperation"

As the country marks its 110th Independence Day observance, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada lamented that, in contrast, more and more Filipinos have been getting imprisoned by poverty and desperation.

"Sad to say, we observe our Independence Day this year amidst many crises - in food, energy, economy, etc. - that have been making life very hard for our people," Estrada said, adding:

"Not only are the resources getting scarcer for the ordinary people, but the prices of even the most basic commodities such as rice and other food products are getting beyond reach by many of our countrymen."

"There have been many measures being pushed to uplift the lives of our people through improved labor and employment environment, but the Executive department has been shooting down our proposals," said Estrada, concurrent chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, and of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment.

The senator said majority of the people are already feeling desperate with this situation, as he noted the results of the latest survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) which showed that more Filipinos see bleaker future.

According to the SWS analysis of its First Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey fielded over March 28-31, a high of 23% of respondents were pessimistic that their Personal Quality of Life would get worse in the next twelve months, and a greater number said they expect it to stay the same or without any improvement.

The SWS added that Net Personal Optimism, or the difference of personal optimists over pessimists, has returned back to a mere neutral of +6, from double-digit positives, ranging from +14 to +29, during its September 2006 to December 2007 surveys.

The survey results also showed that majority of Filipinos viewed that the economy could only worsen, and such sentiment deepened from 37 percent in December 2007 to 45 percent in March this year.

"Our people can never feel and enjoy the true meaning of our country's independence as long as the administration remains a failure in resolving the crises and many other problems besetting our country," Estrada said.

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