We need to ensure that as we establish the K-12 system in our basic education, our young Filipinos will have the right knowledge, skills and attitudes that will make them competitive in the job market not only in the country, but in the ASEAN region and in the world as well. Or there will be an alternative for these young graduates to be entrepreneurs and start their own livelihood and business endeavors. It is our fervent hope that our Conditional Cash Transfer families be able to graduate from just being beneficiaries, and that the Sustainable Livelihood Program is realized as their bridge out of poverty. Let us help in organizing our farmers and fisherfolk, provide the right technical assistance and access to capital, link them to proper markets, so that their produce will be of quality and of standards, and that they may be able to break the cycle of poverty. In addition, we must also be able to support institutions that help our poor communities as well – microfinance organizations, cooperatives, the social enterprise movement and inclusive business programs of the private sector. Our dream is to spur micro, small and medium enterprises all over the country, especially in the rural areas, for our people to be able to stand on their own feet, provide food on the table, send their children to school, and build homes for their families.
The Pope’s visit to the Philippines can remain a record-breaking event, a fond memory we cast to history, or we can turn it into something even more substantial.
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