CREATING AN EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY COUNTRY

Our problems are highly repetitive. Corruption, poverty, rising prices, rape even of children now, and vagrancy in the streets of MetroManila among so many others. Our cities seem to be the perfect "third world" environment which we used to criticize since way back the 70's. 

What are the factors that should bind us to work for the common good? For one I think, is communication. We must have the same definitions for certain terms. For example, when we talk of poverty, what does it mean? To the government, the officials are satisfied that they are performing their jobs -- giving jobs, providing monthly allowances to families that have schooling children, etc. But they do not think of the quality of jobs, nor the quality of students that have benefitted from the allowances, the Tulong Pantawid Pamilya. There could be alleviation of poverty, temporarily, but what about the quality of life that results from it? There could be poverty of the mind too, not just physical poverty. Mental poverty occurs when people focus on the material side of things , when students desire gadgets rather than books that can expand their minds. It occurs when parents think of their children as objects that will help them overcome poverty. 

Job creation looks fine from the point of view of the government. But if the jobs created are those that would break up the families, then is that a healthy program of solving unemployment? Now I want to focus on this --

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas claims that as of end of 2009, Filipino emigrants number around 4 million, the temporary workers 3.8 million and undocumented or irregular migrants, 650,000. By the millions, the Filipino young workers and professionals have left the country, bringing with them their fresh knowledge, able bodies to withstand the pressures of their work, all in order to help their families in the country attain a good level of lifestyle, or survive the economic pressures. 

As we determine that over millions are overseas, let us also remember that 40 to 60% of them also have broken homes -- the wife or husband hitching up with another in order to overcome loneliness; the children taking to drugs in the absence of spiritual and emotional guidance, the relatives taking over the primary care of children, and many more. 

By 2030, what kind of leaders shall we have if at this time, the best of our workers and professionals are leaving or have left the country?

I have a proposal to Congress: require all banks and financial institutions to lend business capital to anyone -- from age 20 up with a requirement that they would know how to run the business. The interest should only be 6% per annum. The loans should be open to all kinds of businesses, single proprietorships, cooperatives, and including cultural companies. 

In this way, I think that many Filipinos would rather stay here than go off to another country where they would suffer physically, emotionally and mentally. It is best for everyone to be where their families are, rather in strange countries, where right now, peace and order cannot be safeguarded anymore, not even in places like Paris. 

Only banks can give that kind of support to our workers and professionals.  


One time, I went to a branch of DBP many years ago and asked about getting a loan as I know that there was a small business lending program available. The requirements were so onerous that I just completely turned my back on it. 

It is high time that the financial sector consider this proposal heavily because they have profitted already from the remittances of OFWs for so long. It is high time that they give back to us what would make our country an emotionally  healthy place to live in.