Outgoing Senator Loren Legarda.
MANILA -- As the nation marks its 121st year of independence, Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday urged Filipinos to unite in ensuring that the Philippines achieves inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth so that every citizen will be free from poverty.
“We have won against the colonial shackles that have plagued our history, but we have more challenges to overcome, one of which is poverty," Legarda said.
"We need to promote inclusive growth by translating our growth statistics into more job opportunities, stable employment, equitable access to quality education, health services, and other social services, and safe and disaster-resilient communities for Filipinos," she added.
The outgoing senator said the government should continue to invest heavily in the countryside by strengthening support for the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises to create more employment opportunities; establishing livelihood training programs; and providing technical and financial support to farmers and fisherfolk.
Legarda added the conservation of the environment should also be part of growth initiatives, pointing out that the decline of ecosystems has been determined as one of the underlying drivers of disaster risks and poverty.
But while the government has been instituting reforms to promote inclusive growth, she urged every citizen to support these initiatives.
“Like our forefathers, who shared the vision of independence and united towards its fulfillment, we can only free our nation from poverty if we all work together to make good use of the opportunities that come with an improving economy," Legarda said.
Unity is also the call of Senator Joel Villanueva, but this time to combat the “social ills” plaguing the nation.
The senator noted that present Filipinos are faced with social ills that hamper our progress as a nation.
“May this day be a fitting reminder of our continuing battle against abuse, indifference, and corruption that come in the form of lost opportunities for our countrymen, unsafe work environment being suffered not only by our local workers but also our OFWs, jobs being stolen by illegal foreign workers, among others,” he said.
“Together, let us unite against these ills and build a nation worthy of the sacrifices of our fallen heroes,” Villanueva said. (PNA)
