An alarming reality!

The latest ADB-UN joint report on the 2006 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) progress in Asia and the Pacific showed that our dear old "Pinas" is miserably lagging behind other countries. The said report lumped the Philippines along with such third world countries as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea as having failed to progress with respect to a number of MDG targets.

Specifically, the report disclosed that the Philippines is "regressing" in terms of reducing the number of underweight children, raising the proportion of primary pupils reaching Grade Five, and in targets for forest cover, carbon emissions and access to clean water in urban areas.

On the other hand, the report also revealed that the country "is on track to cutting the number of people living on $1 a day and increasing the net enrolment ratio in primary education. It is also expected to meet the goals on HIV prevalence and on proportion of population with access to an improved sanitation in urban and rural areas." Goals on the primary completion rate; ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education, and the under-five and infant mortality rate, among others, have already been met.

The GMA administration seeks to reverse this regression. Just yesterday, October 16th, the President led the launching of the "Panata Laban sa Kahirapan" (Stand Against Poverty) which concretizes the country's determination to fight poverty to keep up with its commitment with the MDG goals. But this "show of force" is a mere lip service that will mean nothing unless it is translated into increased government spending for basic services like health and education. Statistics show that the Philippines is committing a small portion of its GDP for these basic services, way below the norms or standards prescribed by international funding institutions like the World Bank.