SP Zubiri: After Pandemic, Parliamentarians Should Focus Efforts on Addressing Rising Poverty
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The COVID-19 global health crisis has not only brought many economies in the Asia Pacific to its knees, but it also set back the fight against poverty in the region by at least two years.
This is according to Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who called on participants to the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum to provide additional safety nets to the poor and the middle class to enable them to escape the clutches of poverty.
At the inaugural ceremony of the parliamentarians’ forum on Thursday, Zubiri said that the priority of the lawmakers in the Asia-Pacific region today “must be ushering in genuine economic progress by eradicating endemic poverty.”
According to Zubiri, an estimated 155 million from the region now live in extreme poverty, 80 million more compared to pre-pandemic data. Inflation and the rising cost of living are also hurting the Asia Pacific region’s middle and working class, he said.
“Parliaments must take action now to provide additional safety nets for the poor and our middle class as well as create opportunities for growth to reverse this trend, in order to achieve true inclusive growth,” Zubiri said.
At the local front, Zubiri said the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is taking a whole-of-government approach to address poverty by creatively and strategically pursuing new ways of maximizing government funds.
He cited the Maharlika Investment Fund, an initiative that involves consolidating underutilized government resources into a sovereign wealth fund.
This fund is designed to provide financial support for the Philippine government's priority programs, aimed at bolstering the national economy and generating employment opportunities at the same time for thousands of Filipinos.
“This multifaceted approach underscores the government's commitment to addressing poverty through resourceful and targeted measures,” Zubiri said.
He said that in the steadily recovering world economy, the Asia-Pacific region remains the key driver of global growth.
Zubiri said the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow by 4.6 percent this year. In the third quarter, the Philippines’ gross domestic product alone expanded to 5.9 percent, making the Philippines one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia.
The Senate President also cited the urgent need for concerted climate action with the continuous threat of climate change and its effects, given the increasing occurrences of extreme storms and prolonged droughts, faster sea-level rise, freshwater scarcity, ocean acidification and the desertification of arable land.
“Take sea-level rise as an example. According to a recent study conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or the IPCC, sea-level rise presents a substantial risk for Asia-Pacific countries particularly those with urban areas along coastlines,” he said.
“As such, governments in the Asia-Pacific region must confront issues such as ocean pollution, illegal, underreported and unregulated fishing, and other human-induced crises in its waters. This requires a commitment to adhering to the rule of law and the recognized principles of friendly cooperation. Given our geographical interconnectedness as neighbors, fostering goodwill becomes imperative,” Zubiri added.