Our farmers can hope for a brighter future

I am very glad that agriculture remains a top priority for our President-elect Rodrigo Duterte. It’s such an important sector here in the country and it is not been given the attention it deserves in recent years. Our poor farmers are already suffering so much due to the drought brought about by El Niño, which PAGASA predicts can last up until the middle of the year. They could most definitely use some respite.

Duterte promised to help enliven the agriculture sector and also to remove the middlemen. Hopefully this will help our farmers uplift their lives and strengthen their livelihood. While I have to admit, I don’t think a full change or uprooting of the agricultural sector is possible in just one presidential term, it’s better that at least something is being started. Hopefully if good programs are put into place, these will be continued by the next administration. After all, we know that despite a promise to work on agriculture, drugs and crime are still the top priority of the incoming administration.

Still, I remain optimistic and hopeful about what Duterte might be able to do for our agricultural sector. His tough stance will hopefully weed out the corruption and we’ll no longer be left with rotting crops in warehouses due to corrupt officials arguing with one another or not coming to terms when it comes to payments and the like. I think there is still much hope for the Philippines when it comes to farming. After all, we were once the envy of our Southeast Asian neighbors for our bountiful harvests. With a little investment into the sector, it’s possible that we can get there again.

It’s important that we all do what we can to help Duterte in this particular agenda. We all will benefit if the agriculture sector becomes as strong as it once was again. Let’s support his programs as he tackles this Herculean task. He’ll need all the help he can get.

* * *

Another proposed change I am looking forward to in the Duterte administration is his vow to end contractualization. While this may not affect me directly right now, I know how it affects so many in the Philippines. People who are trying to make an honest living and provide for their families find it that much harder to do so without any job security. They have to work and live paycheck-to-paycheck worrying about whether or not they will have a job for next contract period.

In the end, I know this will prove challenging because large companies will claim that hiring workers by contracts helps minimize their costs, but as Duterte says this type of practice is “anti-people,” because while companies are minimizing costs, they are doing so at the expense of their workers, who are not given job security or who can’t avail of the benefits that are afforded to regular employees.

I think it speaks volumes about the incoming president’s agenda when he discusses that he worries about how much the people can earn and take home to their families. He was quoted as saying there will be no compromise when it comes to protecting the rights of Filipino workers and I have to applaud his tough stance on that. In the end, helping uplift the lives of those living below the poverty line will really help him in his programs against crime too. After all, statistics show that most crimes are committed due to lack of basic necessities and the dire need to support one’s family.

I am hoping that the President-elect can find a sustainable means to implement his pro-poor programs. Whether it means finding incentives for companies to end their contractualization policies or increasing the salaries of the police force to help keep people feeling safer in the country, in the long run all of us will feel the benefits if we help those who are suffering in our society reach a more hopeful place.

I appreciate how Duterte is thinking of the regular people when it comes to shaping his policies and agenda. His tough stance on crime and drugs will, in the long run, benefit everyone. It just requires a lot of tightening up in the present. And yes, there will definitely be a resistance to that but what can we do except take the first step now? I think we’ve waited long enough.

* * *

I have always supported programs that help support senior citizens. Here in the Philippines this is especially important because more of our aging population is forced into retirement early on and may not have the means to support themselves later on in life. Many rely on the little money they were able to save up over years of working, the kindness of their family members, and on programs of the government that help them such as discounts, free medicine, and the like.

And while I think there is still a long way to go when it comes to senior citizen medical assistance (this is a serious concern because as we all age, our health will naturally deteriorate), I also acknowledge good programs that are in place such as the Department of Health’s program providing free anti-pneumonia vaccines to the elderly. DOH Secretary Janette Garin shared that those who are 60 to 65 years old can avail of free anti-pneumonia vaccines at their local health centers starting this year.

This is a good step in the right direction and is hopefully just another of many more health programs for the elderly and for the Filipino citizens in general. It’s 100 percent true that “health is wealth,” and it would be great news if we were able to provide more health care services to a wider amount of Filipino people, especially those in desperate need.