CEBU, Philippines - Pushing for ways to encourage children of farmers to pursue farming will be one of the priorities of congressional aspirant Pablo John Garcia should he get elected as the first representative of the newly formed Seventh District.
"We have no new farmers. The children of the farmers come to the city to work because they see how difficult for their parents to engage in farming… they think they would rather come to the city to work at call centers or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies because it is easier, the job is not as back-breaking, and income is better," he said.
Garcia spoke with The Freeman and Banat News editors and reporters yesterday for the special edition of "Know Your Candidate: Cebu Vote 2016 Roundtable" dedicated for him and rival Peter John Calderon.
The Seventh District, composed of Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian, Alegria, Malabuyoc and Ginatilan, was created only last year. The area, located in the province's western side, has a population of 200,092 based on the 2010 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority.
A large area of the district is devoted to farming and Garcia said one way to encourage children of farmers to take over is send them to school.
"I will work for more scholarships for children who want to take up agriculture. My plan is to make it (farming) more attractive to the children of our farmers. I will let them study new technology and gain new knowledge on farming to improve their ways," Garcia said.
Aside from this, Garcia said more farm-to-market roads need to be put in place in the district to provide farmers easy access in transporting their products. He said he will also look for ways to intensify support to farmers to enable them to mechanize production and increase yields and income.
Education
Still in the area of education, Garcia believes the Internet is the way to go.
"This is the great equalizer as far as education and knowledge is concerned. You can put students in Ginatilan, for example, at par with students in cities or urban areas through the internet," he said.
He said he will for the establishment of free wireless Internet connection zones in every municipality in the district, as well as in public schools.
Noting the slow Internet connection in the country, Garcia said he is open to letting new players in the telecommunications industry.
"Competition would make other telecommunication companies improve. Foreign players would excite and make others more attentive to the consumers," he said.
Equipping teachers, too, is as equally important, Garcia said. He said he will push for free continuing education for public school teachers so they will learn new methods and techniques in teaching key subjects like Science, Math, and English.
As an incentive, Garcia said it might work to the teachers' advantage if further training can be credited towards a master's degree.
Health
Meanwhile, in the aspect of health, Garcia said he will promote free pre-natal health care for mothers and the unborn through a system of monitoring and incentives.
He said he would improve access to free quality medical assistance and increase support for the modernization of government-run hospitals.
He will also institutionalize the grant of benefits to barangay health workers, barangay nutrition scholars, and other barangay health volunteers as recognition of their role in providing primary health care.
Track record
Asked why Seventh District voters should choose him, Garcia said he already has a track record to show as congressman in the Third District.
"With me, they know exactly what they're getting… if I promise something, it's because I've already done it in the Third District… I've been tried, tested, and I have the work that I can point to and say, ako na ning nabuhat. That's my advantage," he said. — /JMO (FREEMAN)