Arroyo's blueprint vs hunger: Spend on basics, not luxuries

Faced with household hunger incidence at record-high levels, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday advised Filipino families to spend their money wisely even as she assured that the government was taking the problem seriously. "I ask our people to spend on the basics first before the luxuries so our children will have enough to eat," President Arroyo said in a statement read at the inauguration of the Col. Jesus R. Lapus Memorial Sports Complez at San Nicolas village in Concepcion, Tarlac. She added that, "The overall drive for investments and jobs will also help dent the incidence of hunger although we know that this issue cannot be totally attributed to poverty and lack of opportunity but also to the spending patterns of the people." While the administration moves double time to boost the ratings of its senatorial bets for the May elections, survey firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported Monday that one of five Filipino families endure hunger. The survey, conducted from February 24 to 27, found that household hunger incidence was at 19 percent. The figure equaled the record level registered in November last year. Providing food on the dining plates of every Filipino has been a recurring promise of candidates at practically every electoral level. For her part, the President vowed that, "I shall continue to see to it that nobody is left behind in the social payback of economic growth, and fighting hunger shall be a constant priority in strategic and immediate levels." "We always take these reports with a sense of urgency and we want to pinpoint the specific areas and communities where hunger may be rife so that effective intervention can be mounted," she said. She said her administration has been helping advance agricultural production programs, expedite food distribution, and balance food disparities and fluctuations. As an "immediate" response, the President said her rolling stores in poor communities have "checked food prices." Meanwhile, the left-leaning Partido ng Manggagawa party-list group said the SWS survey only showed that the alleged economic gains under the Arroyo administration has not been felt by the masses. "The record-breaking level of hunger exposes the myth of Gloria's social payback amidst economic growth. Whatever economic gain there is remains at the top and does not trickle down. This is the story of the real lives of ordinary people," said Judy Ann Miranda, the group's secretary general. She bemoaned that hunger was a result of the "sabotage of the P125 wage hike" and the "railroading" of the reformed value-added tax (RVAT) law in Congress. "Instead of arresting [Bayan Muna Rep.] Satur Ocampo, it should be solons that sat on the P125 bill and pushed for the R-VAT proposal who should be jailed," said Miranda. - GMANews.TV