Moving towards self-reliant, genuine independence
This year’s June 12 celebration seems more meaningful now, with the proclamation of new leaders who vow to lift our people and our country from poverty and corruption. President-elect Noynoy, who prefers to be called P.Noy, has emphasized the need to comprehensively understand the real problems of this nation and their causes so that the appropriate solutions can be applied.
“Walang mahirap kung walang corrupt” has been their campaign slogan and so, the anti-corruption campaign will simultaneously be an anti-poverty campaign. The causes of poverty, however, are multi-dimensional, involving both local and global factors as well as affecting people on various levels across the country. Hence, how the next administration will define the roots of poverty will be crucial.
Genuine agrarian reform will have to be part of the P.Noy anti-poverty program as our agricultural sector’s impoverishment can be traced both to issues related to land ownership as well as to productivity assistance and thrusts.
Historically, the export crop production sector has received much government support in contrast to the neglected rice and corn and other basic food crop sectors. Sustainable food security, we hope, will be a top priority of the next administration. Ensuring that there is sufficient and continuing supply of our basic food crops for our people should be certified as an urgent priority goal of the Noynoy administration. Having ample food supply and an efficient distribution of reasonably-priced, abot-kaya food items will mean less hungry Filipinos. This is a doable goal from the first year onwards. Farms and all other available areas for planting, in schools, churches, government offices, public roads etc. can be tapped for sustainable basic food production!
To do so may have to require Congress to prioritize food-production related infrastructures, like irrigation systems, sustainable and functioning water supply networks and effective farm-to-market mechanisms. We hope P.Noy will put an end to useless, unnecessary, “ghost” or substandard road and bridge constructions!
Job creation, related to food production and especially those that will create self-sufficient and sustainable local communities and cities should be prioritized. Rather than prioritize those jobs for the global market, the types of jobs to be created should be matched to tasks urgently needed in particular communities. For example, why not pay the fisherfolk and the farmers as well as the indigenous peoples for taking care of and producing wealth, at the same time, from our seas, from our farms and our forests? Why not create more jobs for waste segregation in the urban areas rather than spend the money on garbage trucks, oil and spare parts? Why not pay our indigenous peoples to be teachers of culture and production in their own communities?
This year’s Independence celebration calls to mind Jose Corazon de Jesus’ poem entitled Bayan Ko which he wrote in 1929 to protest versus foreign domination. While most of us are more familiar with the song version of this poem written by Constancio de Guzman, the message is one we all should remember as our guide and map towards real, genuine independence. We have our people, we have our own resources to allow our people and our country to live abundantly, beautifully, creatively, and sustainably. If we all tap our unity and strength as a nation and, on our own united collaborative way, extract the best of our resources to meet our people’s needs, then we can look forward to a real, genuinely free Philippines from here on. Mabuhay ang Pilipino!
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