WHO HAS not heard of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program? Or the Pantawid Pasada? Dole-outs as a social welfare scheme are needed to alleviate the pain of those who are already at the end of the road. But this should not be the be-all and end-all of how we approach the poverty problem.
The government must focus more on how to achieve greater productivity for the poor, especially in the countryside such as our farmers and others in the agriculture sector who are now harvesting less and earning less due to the high cost of farm inputs like fertilizer, rather than merely resorting to dole-out programs.
Surveys after surveys showed several millions of Filipinos complained they have felt hunger. This is bound to get worse if not addressed. Congress must urgently enact tools to fight hunger, but it can only do so if this is considered as the top priority by the government.
Long-range planning is what is needed to, among others, achieve immediate rice sufficiency and long-term food security, and to jumpstart an agriculture renaissance in the country.
Dole-outs are palliatives. They do not answer the root causes of the economic woes of the public. At best, they can tide hunger for just a day.
