Pinoys urged to participate in survey on development issues

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations is encouraging Filipinos to participate in its global survey, where citizens can share with the UN the development issues that most impact their lives.

Dubbed “My World,” the campaign which officially started yesterday and ends in 2015 aims to involve as many citizens as possible regardless of age, gender and background, to participate in determining six development issues they think would make a difference in their lives.

“This is every Filipino citizen’s chance to voice out concerns for the future and in the process influence how the new set of development goals after 2015 will look like,” Luiza Carvalho, UN resident coordinator, told a media forum in Makati City yesterday.

The public could participate in the project online by visiting the My World website www.myworld2015.org.

The visitor will be asked to check six out of the 16 priority issues on the list they feel is most important to them and their family.

The 16 issues include better healthcare, support for people who can’t work, a good education, affordable and nutritious food, protecting rivers, forests and oceans, better transport and roads, action taken on climate change, equality between men and women, better job opportunities, access to clean water and sanitation, phone and internet access, an honest and responsive government, protection against crime and violence, freedom from discrimination and persecution, reliable energy at home, and political freedoms.

Carvalho said the UN would also provide actual ballots to respondents, which include selected beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program or the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program.

“The Philippines is one of the 66 countries being supported by the UN to develop a country position on a post-2015 development framework,” she said.

“The Philippines being supported to take part in all these possible platforms for dialogue made available by the UN and global civil society is an indication that the Filipino is being seen as a good representation of the global citizen and the Philippines a microcosm of the world,” she said.

The global survey is part of the “Beyond 2015” campaign of the UN that seeks to push for a strong and legitimate successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges.

The MDGs are: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.

Director-General Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said through the conduct of focus group discussions with CCT beneficiaries and other marginalized groups, the priority areas for development identified were access to and provision of decent employment, sources of permanent income and livelihood and education.

The initial results of the survey in the Philippines and in other parts of the world will be submitted to the UN secretary-general in May.