Loren Dares Critics: Fight on Level of Platform, Accomplishments

VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LOREN LEGARDA TODAY DARED HER CRITICS AND THOSE OF RUNNING MATE MANNY VILLAR TO RUN A CAMPAIGN BASED ON PLATFORM AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS INSTEAD OF BLACK PROPAGANDA THRU SMS, ONLINE BLOGS AND WEBSITES.
“I will defend my presidential running mate. I know Manny Villar’s politics. Ours is an advocacy to end poverty and hunger. Other candidates could be shaking in their seats and spreading negative – and mostly false – remarks about Senator Villar. I challenge them to raise the level of political debate and demonstrate their platform for governance,” she said.
Loren, the only female vice-presidential candidate in the May 2010 elections, said her campaign will focus on humanitarian relief assistance and awareness, jobs fair, feeding programs and environmental protection projects.
“My campaign will deviate from traditional political campaigning. We will run a clean campaign because we know our biggest fight is not a fight among politicians. It is a fight against poverty and hopelessness,” she said.
Loren blames poor urban governance, vulnerable livelihood, and systems decline as the main reasons for poverty and increasing suffering among Filipinos.
“This deadly trio continues to stifle national progress and makes the lives of millions of Filipinos miserable,” she said.
She vowed to promote good governance and a pro-people agenda that focuses on the well-being of urban and rural poor, OFWs, teachers and indigenous peoples. She called on government to pour resources into housing, water and sanitation, healthcare, and education and skills training for the youth.
“No Filipino should die for lack of money or from the inability of government to provide the basics of life such as food and medical care,” she said.
She further pushed for improved maternal and child health, saying that “no mother or child should die during childbirth for lack of medical attention. It is our moral duty to ensure their health and safety.”
In the area of labor and welfare, Loren called for the protection of OFWs through adequate pre-departure information and empowerment, skills training, social protection and labor rights protection in their countries of destination, safe remittance channels, and psychological support towards re-integrating with home communities.
“We should provide OFWs with viable, practical uses for their hard-earned money. We must give them concrete incentives for insurance, child education/scholarships, housing, and investment opportunities. But first we must ensure that they are able to remit their earnings through assured safe and transparent channels,” she said.
Finally, she reiterated her call to fight climate change and its devastating consequences to people’s lives and livelihood.
“Climate change must be confronted and managed, and the people most vulnerable to adverse climate change effects, disasters and natural calamities must be protected and their resilience enhanced and strengthened. We must work towards sustainable development rooted in disaster risk reduction and enabling climate change adaptation capacities that help protect the environment and our people’s well-being,” said Loren, who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change.