Empowering to save lives

This refers to the editorial titled “What about war on poverty?” (Opinion, 10/11/16). I asked the same question: “How remarkable is it, then, that in the first 100 days of the Duterte presidency, hardly anything was said by the administration about a war on poverty that would at least match in zeal and urgency its flagship war on drugs and crime?”

I maintain that empowering our people is still the most potent antipoverty measure. Those who are within the poverty threshold should be empowered by the government with employable skills and education. I agree that most of those who get branded as drug users/pushers are the poor, the vulnerable and the homeless because they don’t have the skills to make a living or the appropriate knowledge and education to land them gainful jobs. Hence, they usually resort to committing crimes in their desperate attempt to survive.

The government should rethink its strategy. The country cannot be better off by killing those who are allegedly involved in illegal drugs. For the next 100 days of the Duterte presidency, I suggest that the government should increase our people’s awareness of their potentials, skills, talents, creativity, productivity, their rights and responsibilities, self-worth, self-respect, self-help attitude—with a sense of accountability and, of course, their valuable contribution to our government’s poverty alleviation program. When they become skilled, they will be able to eke out a living, earn an income and live a decent and respectable life.

Lastly, by empowering them, we can save their God-given lives.

REGINALD B. TAMAYO, Marikina City