Miriam promises jobs in the countryside

If elected president, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said her administration would create more jobs in the rural areas so that Filipinos would no longer need to go to urban centers or work abroad to support their families.

This could be done, according to Santiago, by

focusing on economic development, poverty reduction, and jobs creation through heavy investment on public infrastructure, modernizing agriculture, and attracting foreign investors.

“I commit that the Philippine economy will grow faster than ever before, and that it will be truly inclusive. We will make sure that real incomes of workers all over the country will increase over time,” she said.

The program of government Santiago posted on her website shows that she intends to spark economic activity outside Metro Manila by implementing one major infrastructure project and setting up one mixed-used government center per region.

Santiago also promised to build an entirely new railway system from Manila to Sorsogon and a modern urban transit system in Metro Manila, with lines reaching urban communities in Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna.

The lady senator’s statement was in response to results of an online poll that three out of four Filipinos prefer to work in their hometowns rather than seek jobs elsewhere. The survey was conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment and online job marketplace Jobstreet.

Santiago, a former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) secretary, also lamented the poor state of agriculture in the country.

“This directly impacts the Philippines’ poverty situation, she said, noting that agricultural workers belong to the poorest of the poor.”

“For the income and productivity of farmers to grow, the government should attract rather than chase out private capital in the agriculture sector. We must also match private capital with public investment,” she added.

Santiago’s agenda includes investing in farm-to-market roads, irrigation, and water impounding facilities, as well as research, particularly for the development of disaster-resilient farming technologies and crop varieties.

She added that her administration will consider how the existing Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program, where most beneficiaries are farmers and fisherfolk, may be improved to become a more direct form of support for the agricultural sector.

“Grant-for-produce programs may be put in place in rural areas, following the logic of grant-for-work programs we will implement in urban poor communities. This means that incentives will be provided to more productive farmers,” Santiago said.

To boost manufacturing and the creation of national industries, the senator said she will work to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) and provide a business climate for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to flourish.