PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon said the reduction of the poverty rate to a historic single-digit low of 9.7 percent, three years ahead of the 2028 target, has a profound effect on insurgency.
”This milestone is not merely a statistic; it is the nation’s most potent weapon against insurgency in recent memory,” Gadon told The Manila Times.
Gadon reported the development at a press conference organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
He noted that the dramatic reduction in poverty strikes directly at the very conditions that insurgent groups have long exploited to recruit vulnerable communities
”Poverty reduction has an immense and direct impact on insurgency. It is the root cause that insurgents manipulate, but when people have access to decent livelihoods — irrigation, fair wages and assured markets for their crops — they lose every reason to take up arms,” Gadon said.
”Development eradicates the desperation that armed groups depend on to thrive,” he added.
Gadon said that farmers — who are among the most frequently targeted by the New People’s Army recruitment — are now experiencing tangible government support.
”Where development reaches, recruitment falters. When a farmer can earn an honest living without resorting to violence, insurgency loses its strongest foundation,” he added.
Gadon said the government is broadening access to capital for micro, small and medium enterprises through collaborative efforts with the private sector.
”Where development reaches, recruitment falters. When a farmer can earn an honest living without resorting to violence, insurgency loses its strongest foundation,” he added.Gadon said the government is broadening access to capital for micro, small and medium enterprises through collaborative efforts with the private sector.