[Philippines] Arroyo to bare measures taken v. poverty, hunger in Sona: Cabinet exec

from The Sun Star

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will enumerate her administration’s accomplishments in fighting poverty and hunger in her State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, according to a Cabinet member.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Arroyo administration has made headway in the campaign against hunger as he claimed that the number of starving Filipinos “has gone down.”

Citing a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, Duque said hunger incidence nationwide decreased by three percent from the 16.9 percent in the first three months of the year to 13.9 percent for the second quarter of the year when the study was made.

Duque said this showed that from 700,000 families that admitted experiencing hunger, it went down to 580,000 during the second quarter.

“I can’t stop people from wanting to inject malicious things,” Duque said when asked why he divulge one of the contents of the President’s Sona.

Based on the same survey, hunger incidence in Metro Manila dropped from 18.3 percent during the first quarter of the year to 15 percent in the second quarter while hunger incidence in the rest of Luzon and Mindanao posted a decline – from 14.7 to 10 percent and 21 percent to 17.3 percent, respectively.

The same survey noted that only the Visayas region had an increase in hunger incidence - 16 percent to 17.7 percent.

Duque said since there is an increase in hunger incidence in the Visayas, the government had to work harder to address the problem in poor provinces like Masbate.

Duque said the government’s “Food for the School” program, wherein the government gives a kilo of rice to every Grade 1 students and pre-schoolers in selected public schools could be one of the reasons that lowered hunger incidence in the country, Duque said.

Launched in November last year, the program benefited a total of 444,101 families for a coverage rating of 97.6 percent, he said.

But Duque said they are now working on how they could reduce the hunger incidence by 50 percent by August next year despite a limited budget of P2.7 million.

Duque said they are also exploring the possibility of exchanging food resources among regions to reduce hunger among the populace.

Meanwhile, the PNP has set up checkpoints around Metro Manila to prevent the entry of communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who are supposedly plotting to disrupt the Sona.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Vidal Querol assured that the possible entry points of rebels from Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog for
Metro Manila have been already blocked.

In a radio interview, Querol said the checkpoints were established in coordination with elements from the Central Luzon and Calabarzon (Calamba, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) police offices.

The NCRPO has gone on a heightened alert principally due to the rebel plot, which includes the lobbing of a grenade at the ranks of anti-government protesters outside the Batasan Pambansa complex where the President will deliver her address.

“Our coordination with the Central Luzon police and Calabarzon police is strong,” said Querol. At least 13,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed within and outside the complex to ensure a peaceful delivery of the President's address.

Querol earlier said the blast would be blamed by the communist movement to the government to ignite anti-government sentiments. Communist leaders have been openly seeking the overthrow of the Arroyo government.

“We are in receipt of the information (NPA) plot but we are quickly adding that there is no cause for alarm,” said Querol.

Top military and police officials have also uncovered a plot by the mutinous Magdalo Group to grab power on Monday. However, they expressed optimism that the plan had been already neutralized.

The renegade soldiers’ plot include the occupation of the Batasan Pambansa complex and holding the lawmakers captive. They also plan to launch “special operations” against vital installations, including Malacañang and military camps, and high-profile personalities.

The plan was uncovered following the recovery of a document entitled “Operation Plan Trident”, which details the planned power grab. The document was seized from six Magdalo Group officers arrested in Fairview, Quezon City on July 7.

Apart from the document, government troops already recovered from the possession of the rebel soldiers a large cache of explosives, a blueprint and surveillance photographs of the Batasan Pambansa building.