Loren laments more Filipinosgoing hungry
Scores 'band-aid' solution of gov't to hunger problem

Senator Loren Legarda urged today government to double its efforts in alleviating hunger and joblessness among Filipinos in the face of a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showing more Filipinos going hungry this month.

"More Filipinos going hungry in December, supposed to be a time of plenty as workers receive their 13th month pay, underscores the gravity of the economic problems we are facing along with the rest of the world," said Loren.

According to the SWS, hunger has reached a new peak nationwide with the national percentage of families having experienced having nothing to eat rising to 23.7% this month.

The 23.7% represents 4.3 million Filipino families and surpassed the previous record of 21.5% recorded in September 2007.

Loren said that government's stop-gap measures to cushion the poor from the impact of the economic downturn must not take the backseat to effecting long-term economic pump-priming activities, including support for small, medium and micro enterprises.

Government's stop-gap measures which Loren described as "band-aid solutions" include its P500 electric subsidy, conditional cash transfer and rice access program for the poor.

"The P500 power subsidy was funded by government's value added tax income from oil. But with the price of oil in the world market now at $33 to a barrel from $150/barrel months ago, this subsidy may no longer be sustainable," she said.

The conditional cash transfer mechanism, in which families that send their children to school are given dole-outs by the government, is an enticement that stops during school breaks, along with school-based mass feeding programs, Loren pointed out.

"The point is subsidies cannot replace government initiatives that would provide livelihood opportunities to Filipinos so they can buy food, send their children to school, and have access to health care, among the other necessities," she stressed.

Loren added that with gross domestic product (GDP) expected to be just around 3% next year after slowing down to a little over 4% this year from the 7% of 2007, Filipinos will have to rely anew on their resiliency to survive.

"As a nation, we had been likened to the sturdy bamboo which bends with the wind during storms so as not to get uprooted," she said.

"I have complete faith that we'll weather the financial and economic storm as we are made of sterner stuff to give in to panic."

Loren encouraged a return to the "basics" when the people are able to discern "wants from needs" in making judicious use of limited resources.

"When funds are scarce, so must we exercise more vigilance in fighting corruption in government," she concluded.