What now?

May is about to leave and we hear the news that this year's economic growth is lower than expected because of the disasters that visited our country last year. What will happen to our people with slower economic growth?

The rich got richer with positive economic growth. Their wealth grew by millions. Many in PNoy's Cabinet saw their wealth increase by millions and got richer.

With lower economic growth, the rich will not have to worry. Their millions may decrease but they certainly have so much more millions to live as they wish, extravagantly even.

In contrast, the millions of the poor who reported themselves poor including millions among these, without the assurance of daily food for their families, will get even poorer. However will they continue to survive?

There are the poor among the communities most damaged by last year's disasters. The homeless still have to have their homes rebuilt, the hungry still to be fed, the unemployed still to find work to sustain themselves and their families, the sick needing to be attended to.

With lower economic growth, what will happen to the poor? Will millions more be added among the poor from hereon? Among these are the millions who voted PNoy as president. He promised that with the "matuwid na daan," " kung walang korupsyon, walang mahihirap."

While there are laudable steps taken by sincere and committed members of the present administration and while we remain grateful to have an honest leader, it is now time for PNoy to acknowledge that he has to push harder and do much more to alleviate the state of our nation's poor and leave a legacy of honest, responsive and sustainable governance system beyond his term.

He is reported to have asked, what happened, what went wrong when he was told that unemployment and the number of poor increased this year. Oh, how much the poor can tell, can show him where his administration deviated, went outside of their proposed matuwid na daan.

The poor can tell him that his economic policies were never pro-poor or if  some were, the trickle down positive effects for the poor are still nowhere in sight, despite 4 years of PNoy's administration.

Take the policy on mining as an example. Rather than side with the indigenous peoples who have owned and lived in their mountains and other dwelling places for centuries, there are those in the present government who would rather extract the minerals and are pushing hard for the approval of mining rights for outsiders, including foreigners. Are minerals more important than people? Is mining more important than preserving our natural resources for the next generations of Filipinos? The indigenous peoples, whose articulate and active leaders have been threatened, isolated, or worse, even killed, deserve their right to their lands and to their lives and to their sustainable present and future. If they are deprived of their own lands, it is like genocide for their whole community that have survived centuries based on their self-reliant efforts. Despite lack of government assistance and prioritization, our indigenous peoples have shown the simple yet sustainable and dignified way to survive and live.

PNoy can tap other policies to truly help our poor and our country rather than prioritize non-win-win policies like mining and opening of our lands and resources for foreign ownership through Chacha.

For one, a genuine austerity program should be imposed, starting with non-issuance of huge bonuses for GOCCs. They have enjoyed so much undeserved perks for so long, it is time for them to return what should have been given to the needy long before. Those who are also enjoying huge multiple incomes from government should be asked to sacrifice even for a year or 2, or until 2016, PNoy's term and instead, have their huge salaries turned over for welfare, employment, food security, and shelter for the poor.

No more extravagant vehicles and free gas and other privileges to all those in government until 2016. So much savings can be generated from this genuine austerity program.

Then intensive progressive taxation — ensuring that the truly rich pay their exact taxes and the poor, subsidized until they can manage on their own.

Food security should be prioritized, encouraging all communities to sustainably and ecologically produce their own food supply. Labor-intensive employment and investment policies should also be adopted, perhaps on a community-basis, for construction of schools , homes and truly-necessary roads, bridges and other infrastructures.

Wages should be raised to allow the poor to pick themselves up and go beyond survival. Companies will never fold up, even with wage increases, if only owners and stockholders will be willing to share some of their huge profits, skimp a little on their expensive lifestyles and share with those who have less in their offices and companies.

Time for PNoy to realize that he only has 2 years left before the 2016 election to fulfill his promise to the millions who hoped that if they voted him president, matuwid na ang daan, walang korupsyon, wala na din ang mahihirap.

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