The Saudi Gazette
MANILA
PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo virtually blamed the poor for the hunger they’re experiencing, saying that hunger “cannot be totally attributed to poverty and lack of opportunity but also to the spending patterns of the people.”
In a speech in Tarlac province at the inauguration of a sports complex, Arroyo said the poor must learn to spend their income on basic needs instead of luxuries so that their families would have enough to eat.
Arroyo was reacting to the Feb. 24-27 Social Weather Stations (SWS) quarterly survey on hunger which showed that the degree of hunger in the Philippines remains at a record 19 percent since November 2006.
Based on the SWS survey, the results showed that nearly one in five Filipino families has experienced hunger at least once in the last three months.
Arroyo said her government is taking reports on hunger incidence “with a sense of urgency” and wants to pinpoint specific areas where hunger is worst so that interventions can be mounted.
She said her government is advancing agricultural production, broadening and speeding up the food distribution and balancing out price disparities and fluctuations.
She said rolling stores have been deployed in poor communities, food prices in the markets checked, and food transport routes from farm to market ensured. She said the government’s program to entice more investments and jobs will also lower hunger incidence.
In essence, Arroyo pointed to the poor as the culprits for the soaring poverty level under her government, insinuating that the poor have not been spending their money wisely.
“I ask our people to spend on the basics first before the luxuries so our children will have enough to eat. All aspects must be dealt with so the whole citizenry can be healthy and productive,” she said.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President was merely stating a fact. “There is a need to educate the people on the proper utilization of their meager resources,” he said.
He said that people should learn to cut down on “unnecessary expenditures” like alcohol, cigarettes and even on cell phone loads.
He said if one fails to send their children to school, or buy milk, food or similar basic necessities, it should prompt him to start saving or “marshalling resources very carefully.”
The survey showed that the number of households that experienced hunger stayed at 3.4 million, same as in November 2006.
Genuine Opposition spokesman Adel Tamano said the survey is a barometer “of the true state of affairs” under Arroyo’s leadership.
“This (report) belies Malacanang’s insistence that the economy is doing well. Clearly, when the President says things have never been so good, she’s referring to her family and cronies while the majority’s lot has worsened,” Tamano said in a press conference at GO’s headquarters in Mandaluyong city.
“Despite the Palace’s blabber about how well the economy is doing, evidently such is not the case for most people in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon where hunger incidence has even worsened,” he added.
Tamano said hunger incidence has been at double digit levels since June 2004, immediately after Arroyo was proclaimed winner.
GO senatorial candidate Francis Escudero warned that the Philippines faces the prospects of famine, with its dangerous dependence on other countries for its food supply.
He said the country has fertile farmlands and free-flowing rivers for irrigation, but the government fails to exploit these rich natural resources to ensure food security.
He said the government dutifully appropriates funds for agriculture but diverts the money into useless projects.
Senate President Manuel Villar and Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said the government should stop bragging about the economic gains of the country because there is still a big number of Filipinos who are not able to eat three times a day.
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