Three weeks ago, I wrote about a Capitol report on the most poverty-stricken municipalities in the province which again included my hometown, Cauayan.
Also included in the “exclusive list”, are the neighboring southern towns of Hinoba-an, Ilog and Candoni as well as number of sugar-producing communities in the central part of Negros Occidental.
A friend later told me not to fret about the report as we don’t singularly own the “poverty-stricken community” claim as he showed a Jan. 7 Sun.Star online story that disclosed that Cebu province has the most number of poor people in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic started until the early part of 2023.
The Sun.Star report further said that the number of people who did not have enough to meet their food requirements rose by more than double from more than 340,000 prior to the pandemic – to over 810,000 in the first half of last year.
The report further said that, based on Philippine Statistics Authority figures, Cebu Province has the most number of poor people in the country and Central Visayas, among the 17 regions, has the most number of poor people – at 2.56 million as of the first semester of 2023, with Cebu topping the nationwide provincial figures (1.72 million people). The regional numbers in Central Visayas represent 10 percent of the total number of poor Filipinos – which is estimated at 25.24 million.
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Negros Occidental Gov. Jose Eugenio Lacson was quoted as saying that the provincial numbers can serve as guide to the local government unit on dealing with the situation.
I can just imagine the difficulty of the LGU in addressing the economic problem in the identified towns, considering that the situation has been a nagging concern for years.
While the hometown is blessed with mountains, hills, plains and coast, people’s incomes are just enough for their daily subsistence.
Not unless major investments come in and domestic mindsets are overturned toward innovation and greater productivity, the economic situation in localities is expected to remain in the years ahead even despite poverty alleviation programs being implemented.
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In my earlier article, I mentioned that, based on my researches, the improvement of social services – including people’s access to clean and potable water, environmental protection, better health care and the promotion of better nutrition for children – may be small but significant steps the LGU can take to address the disparity between daily needs and the available domestic or household resources.
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Apparently to help alleviate the situation, the Capitol released last week P4.33 million for the LGU community-based nutrition program in my hometown.
The Office of Mayor John Rey Tabujara said “the nutrition program aims to provide the development stage nutritional requirements of children to prevent the negative and irreversible effects of malnutrition.”
Sixteen of the town’s 25 barangays are recipients of the Capitol assistance. These are Barangays Abaca, Caliling, Camalanda-an Camindangan, Inayawan, Linaon, Lumbia, Man-uling, Mambugsay, Molobolo, Poblacion, Sura, Talacdan, Tambad, Tiling and Tuyom.
We trust that the assistance from the provincial government, with the creativity and innovativeness of health officers in the LGU, will serve not just as a stop-gap measure, but more so as an initial step to meaningfully address the nagging problem.
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Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God…” (Luke 6:20) | NWI
