Bro. Eddie on Unchanged Poverty Rate: That's why we need growth from the margins

Despite an upgrade of the country’s credit rating and record highs by the stock market, the country’s poverty rate remains unchanged because there is no inclusive growth from the margins.

This was the assessment of Bangon Pilipinas senatorial candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva on the recent report of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) that said poverty incidence was a 27.9 percent in the first semester of 2012, which was “practically unchanged” from the same period in 2009 (28.6 percent) and 2006 (28.8 percent).

“This is the best proof that development is not reaching the grassroots. The rich just keep getting richer. For this country to move forward, the poor and the marginalized must be given a chance to better their lives. In the Senate, this will be our legislative agenda,” Bro. Eddie, an economist, said.

He explained that Bangon Pilipinas program of the development of an “economics in the margins” or “ekonomiya ng sangigilid” can solve the current imbalance of development in the country.

“The platform of Bangon Pilipinas was drafted exactly to address this long-standing problem of imbalance in development. We will push for a government that provides opportunities for all. We will champion policies that will redistribute power and resources so those living in the margins will reap the benefits of the country’s development.”

Bro. Eddie also said the country’s economy has become highly dependent on remittances from its overseas contract workers and domestic consumption.

“We need development in the industrial and manufacturing sector so more people, especially the poor and the marginalized, can get jobs. Nobody should be left behind,” he said.

Bro. Eddie, who was also a professor, also said he would push for an education system that is relevant and responsive to the needs of the country’s workforce.

“We need an education system that will not only produce a large pool of skilled laborers and technicians but engineers, scientists and knowledge workers who can help in the country’s industrial development.”