Poverty in countryside! POLICY MAKERS MUST REVIEW PH DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

On the way back to Kapalong town proper in Davao del Norte after meeting the “Lost Tribe” last Friday, I stopped by the side of the newly-opened road in Barangay Gupitan because of a heart-rending sight.

Two huts with children peeping through the holes in the walls stood as a symbol of how much more government needs to do in the countryside to make people feel that they are cared for.

Living in the two houses were four families, as is common among the Ata-Manobo tribe, all of them a picture of dire poverty.

The houses are made of the bark of Anabiong, a fast-growing miscellaneous tree species, the floor bamboo slats kept in place by rattan strips while the roof discarded tarpaulin sheets maybe donated by a generous person.

The ladder was made from a tree branch hacked on one side to serve as steps on the way up and down.

The children looked emaciated and one of them could not walk.

When I talked to the farmer who owned the house, he told me that he could only buy food if he is hired to work in the corn field to take out weeds.

For a day’s work, he is paid P150 and it is not everyday that he gets hired because corn farming is seasonal.

He said they used to walk for about 8 hours to a village called Patil in Nabunturan to buy salt but since the road was opened earlier this year by Governor Edwin Jubahib, the trip is a lot faster.

I am sharing this story because I would like to share with our economic and development planners the following realities:

1. The opening of rural roads gives people in the countryside a better life as it allows them access to the market to sell their produce and buy the basic things they need.

2. Agriculture, including fisheries, is the lifeblood of Philippine economy and the continued dumping of imported goods based on the argument that these are cheaper, actually makes life harder for people who depend on agriculture and fisheries.

When I was Secretary of Agriculture, I proposed the completion of the 13,000-kilometer backlog on rural roads in the whole country during the term of President Rody Duterte arguing that by doing that we will change the lives of people in the countryside and boost productivity.

The response of the economic and development planners was to pour more money on the ambitious and hi-financed mega infrastructure projects.

Worse, we embarked on a national road widening program excavating still usable roads to be repaved again forgetting that in the rural areas, horses loaded with farm produce could hardly negotiate the muddy and treacherous trails.

So, today about 1,000 kilometers of rural roads are included in the budget every year, thus it will take 13 years before far-flung communities are provided with access to the market.

The continued dumping of imported goods, especially rice, corn, pork and chicken, may indeed provide consumers and processors with lower-priced commodities.

But at what cost to the millions who rely on agriculture and fisheries to survive?

If the owner of that corn field where the Ata-Manobo tribesman works to earn P150 per day of work decides to stop planting corn, what would become of him?

If the farmers stop planting rice in their farms because of the flooding of cheap imported rice, how many workers will be displaced, how many equipment will not be used and how much “darak” needed by the feed mills will not be produced?

All of these must be quantified and considered by our economic and development planners when crafting a national development plan.

Inflation numbers are abstract and nobody dies when the inflation numbers tick up a bit.

But certainly, many Filipnos will go hungry, get sick and be deprived of a better life if we are so obsessed with quarterly inflation numbers.

#NationbuildingIsNotAllAboutInflation!

#EveryFilipinoMustBePartOfPlanning!

#WalkAnExtraKilometer!

#TouchGroundFeelThePulse!

(Photos were taken by the Beauty & Bounty Media Team of the Mindanao Development Authority. A video presentation will be uploaded shortly.)