Our Lady of Fatima and poverty resolution

Today we celebrate another feast of Mama Mary. On October 13, 1917, our Lady appeared in Fatima, Portugal to the three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. Our Lady asked the children to pray the rosary daily for peace and the end of war, "to pray a lot, a lot for the sinners and sacrifice a lot, as many souls perish in hell because nobody is praying or making sacrifices for them."

Let us all remember to heed her words and offer a rosary each day for peace and unity. Still so much to pray for, not only for the whole world but for our country as well.

Beyond the first 100 days of Duterte, from this day on, let us also pray for our poor who continue to await the alleviation of their condition. These are about 26 million Filipinos, far beyond the numbers that elected Du30, far more than the drug addicts so much attention and budget have been allocated for.

For every four Filipinos, there is one who is poor. They are not only hungry, needing enough and nutritious food. Out of the 26.3 percent poor among our people, about 2.6 million are also without work. Among the poor are our women, our farmers, our fisherfolks, our forest dwellers.

Filipinos surveyed by Pulse Asia last July conveyed their three top concerns: high prices (inflation: 68 percent), jobs (56 percent) and pro-poor programs (55 percent) with criminality (48 percent) as 4th.

Will these concerns be addressed soon by the new administration?

In her keynote message at the Partnerships Against Poverty Summit, Vice President Leni Robredo noted that "poverty is the root cause of many Filipino families' suffering. Poverty is a larger war that needs our focus and attention."

"It claims lives of pregnant women who do not have access to proper health care. It causes irreversible stunting in the first 1,000 days of children, forcing them to suffer for the rest of their lives."

"Poverty undermines millions of children's capacity to absorb knowledge and skills that are crucial for gainful employment and livelihood. It has pushed our people, young and old, to take or sell drugs, and commit all forms of crimes."

"It disempowers and erodes the dignity of the majority of our people, especially in the remote rural areas and the congested urban informal settlements."

"Women are disenfranchised. The small farmers, fisherfolk, and laborers who produce our country's food are ironically the ones who are hungry and lack proper nutrition. They do not earn enough to meet their families' basic needs."

Poverty is linked to so many other social problems. Poverty resolution will not only translate to better and secure lives for the poor but for all as well. Poverty alleviation measures have to be prioritized soonest. And we all have to do our share to help stop poverty and to help improve the lives of all Filipinos, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable.

The anti-poverty strategies need to be comprehensive and integrated on all levels, involving not only government but partners from all over our country and the world as well.

We reiterate our suggestion to start the anti-poverty campaign by providing regular, reasonable monthly wages to women for their reproductive work. Women who stay at home doing chores, taking care of their family members, cooking, laundering, caring for the young and elderly and more are doing productive labor just like women and men who work outside the home. Domestic helpers are paid, care providers are paid as well, why not pay mothers and other women who take care of people and who ensure the maintenance of families and the stability of homes?

We also reiterate our suggestion to properly compensate, give monthly wages to our food producers: farmers, fisherfolks, and the forest and other natural resource stewards. They not only help to provide us with our food supply, they also are very protective of nature and the environment. Budget is allotted for all forms of forest protection and environmental preservation. Why not involve our farmers, fisherfolks, forest and other natural resource stewards in these campaigns and pay them accordingly?

Productive labor is not rendered only in factories, in manufacturing, industry, or services. Productive labor has continued to be rendered by our women, by our food producers, by our forest and natural resource stewards, in their homes, in their farms, our seas and forests, respectively, but sadly, without proper recognition and proper compensation. There is no need and no sense in bringing them out of their homes, their natural territories, their natural work settings.

Paying them for their worthy labor may be an important step for lifting them out of their poverty. Their life is within their homes, their immediate environment. For centuries, they have labored in these contexts but their labor has not be compensated.

It's time for a rethinking of a new paradigm about how to end our people's poverty. Start from where they are, acknowledge, and recognize their work as productive labor worth monetary compensation, see how much more productive the belated recognition and compensation will translate into more produce to provide the needs of the rest of our people.