What's On & Expat - Philippines

Bernadette Romulo-Puyat
Undersecretary
Department of
Agriculture
Filipino

   People think that the Department of Agriculture is only about the provinces, the rural poor. Not everybody knows that under Secretary Yap, we have started this “Gulayan sa Masa Program” (Vegetables for the Masses). Basically, we meet with different women’s organizations in Metro Manila and provide them with vegetable seeds to plant in their backyards. The main objective of that urban gardening program is so that the women won’t have to keep going to markets to buy their vegetables. They can grow their own vegetables organically and trade them with their neighbors. That makes the community self-sustaining. I’m proud to say that because of our efforts, hunger has decreased in Metro Manila. In fact, I’m so proud every time I’d receive comments that, compared to other agencies, the impact of DA can really be felt in Metro Manila.
 

Joseph Gooding
Second Secretary, Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA)
Canadian

I think the challenges are solvable. What needs to happen is getting the right leadership and the right commitment. A lot depends on governance and people coming together to identify what are the problems and what are the appropriate solutions. So a lot depends on government, investment and the community itself. But overall, the problems are solvable if people put their minds to it and sincerely try to address these problems.
 

Audrey Revillon
French
Corporate Relationship
Manager
World Wildlife Fund

In my opinion, first thing to do is to stop ignoring them and this huge social issue. There are thousands of people sleeping in the street, millions of people living on less than 1 dollar a day. How can we still ignore them! Help starts with respect!
    In the Philippines there is such a gap between rich and poor people. Two worlds! How can you study at the best schools of this country, read newspapers, and watch TV and still say that there are no street children in the Philippines. That is just an example. Vut often rich people are overprotected and cut off from the realities of their own country.
   To give support to local NGOs can also be a solution. Lots of NGOs are qualified and professional. They are looking for sustainable solutions to help urban poor people, like education, micro finance programs, training.
   It also seems necessary to provide more help to people living in the province. So many of them decide to come to Manila thinking that they will get a better life. Life is hard for them when they reach the city, hard to find a job, find a place to live. These people quickly become “the new urban poor”. We should be able to give them a chance to stay in the province and to live there decently.

Javier Laporta
Spanish
Cultural Coordinator
Embassy of Spain

We should not only do something, but we must also be aware of socio-cultural realities including those that affect the underprivileged and we should uplift the state of these realities. Everyone in our position can put in our own efforts to try to promote their development and give the poor opportunities to improve their living conditions.
 

Stephen Slade
American
Director for
Operations
Convergys

Create a reading and writing campaign. Ensure that poor children have the ability to read and write to better prepare them to navigate their future
 

Pacita U. Juan
President and CEO, Figaro Coffee
Systems, Inc.
Filipino

   There is a lot of potential in the agricultural sector. Maybe we can encourage people in the urban areas to seek out opportunities in the farming sector. Most of the people in the city have lands in provinces where you can grow organic vegetables and fruits. There is demand for organic coffee, organic mangoes and organic vegetables. They may even have the skills that can be harnessed to grow the farm sector. Maybe we should all look at the natural resources we have as a tropical country and start from there. The key is in closing gaps between farms and markets, which a lot of organizations are presently doing but we need the producers, people who grew up knowing how to farm crops.