On poverty and nuclear weapons

One of the measures that I proudly co-sponsored in the 17th Congress was a national school feeding program for public kindergarten and elementary pupils to safeguard them from malnutrition. In 2018, then president Duterte signed Republic Act 11037 or the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino” law. The pandemic lockdowns did not halt the program’s continuity since concerned government agencies and units ensured the delivery of fortified meals to these undernourished children.

Five years after the law’s enactment, the county continues to contend with the problems of malnutrition, hunger and poverty. A 2021 poverty incidence report disclosed that children along with fisherfolk, farmers and rural residents are among the poorest sectors in the country (Philippine Statistics Authority). In the first quarter of 2023, an estimated 2.7 million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger at least once (Social Weather Station March Hunger Figure). Citing figures from a 2021 survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said 20 percent of children in daycare facilities supervised by the education department are malnourished.

Anti-poverty czar

These are some of the herculean tasks that newly-appointed Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon has to tackle through whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approaches. To achieve our poverty reduction goals, he would need the assistance of various national agencies, as well as the support of the private sector, non-government organizations and international agencies. As I have said before, it is scandalous and unacceptable to see many Filipino children grappling with hunger and malnutrition while our economy continues to rise. In particular, the country remains one of the best-performing post-pandemic economies in the world, highlighted by our 7.6 full-year growth in 2022. Our Gross Domestic Product also grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023 in keeping with the International Monetary Fund forecast. Hence, the government’s poverty reduction strategy must ensure that the majority of Filipinos benefit from our rapidly expanding economy. Larry and other anti-poverty officials must see to it that our disadvantaged children will not fall through the cracks in the country’s march towards upper-middle-income status in the near future.

Gadon, who is a friend and a UniTeam co-member, is also in the eye of a storm following his disbarment by the Supreme Court for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability. It stemmed from his profane remarks against a female journalist. As expected, government critics were quick to pounce on him. Some have even asked the President to recall his appointment as presidential adviser. I will no longer comment on the case because the anti-poverty secretary will file a motion for reconsideration. I need to emphasize, though, that law practice in the Philippines is a privilege with stringent conditions, which the Supreme Court stated in several decisions. Lawyers and officers of the court must always conform to the legal code of ethics.

The good news is the Marcos administration is fully supportive of Gadon. The government post does not require a juris doctorate or a law degree. Thus, the disbarment has no bearing on his qualification as an anti-poverty czar. I hope Larry will take the High Court’s decision as a challenge to perform well and even exceed the expectations of PBBM. His programs to address hunger – “Batang Busog Malusog” – and boost the country’s micro-industries are steps in the right direction.

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Russian nuclear weapons

On the international front, the failed coup attempt by the Wagner Group in Russia caught my attention because I believe it has serious implications for our very survival as a human race. I recently learned from the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize winner International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) that Russia possesses the most number of nuclear warheads in the world. The transcontinental nation has 5,997 nuclear weapons as against the United States’ 5,428. ICAN said one nuclear weapon is enough to kill almost 600,000 people in a city the size of New York. The military superpowers are non-signatories of the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons. They also account for 89 percent of the world’s total inventory of nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

I can just imagine if these weapons fell into the hands of the Wagner Group, a state-funded mercenary force comprised of military veterans and criminals. A BBC report said the 5,000-strong group recruited Russian prisoners as members last year. Previously, the mercenary group operated in Africa and the Middle East. Had it successfully overthrown the Putin government, the entire planet would have been plunged into chaos and unrest. It is also not a farfetched scenario that the Wagner Group will hold the world hostage by threatening nation-states with a nuclear attack.

President Putin also admitted that Wagner is under his government’s payroll. Between 2002 and 2003, the group received $1 billion in wages and incentives for assisting Russia’s occupation of Ukraine. On June 23, the paramilitary organization took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don after accusing Russian defense officials of bombing Wagner troops in Ukraine. The Russian command center for its Ukrainian invasion is located in the city. Following a series of negotiations with the Kremlin, and with the intercession of the Belarusian president, Wagner Group withdrew from Rostov. They agreed to go into exile in Belarus. Russia has dropped criminal charges against the mercenary force.

The Wagner Group is no different from Blackwater, a private military firm that the US government reportedly deployed in war zones, especially in the Middle East. This might explain the muted response or reaction from the US and its NATO allies regarding the Wagner Group. I also think that they would not want any mercenary group to get a hold of those nearly 6,000 warheads. Otherwise, the consequences would be catastrophic.

To quote ICAN, nuclear weapons violate international law, cause environmental damage and undermine national and global security. They must be urgently eliminated because they remain an existential threat.