POE ON KIDAPAWAN: GOV'T SHOULD NEVER WAIT FOR PEOPLE
TO BEG FOR FOOD

CALACA, BATANGAS--No government should ever wait for its people to beg for food, presidential race frontrunner Sen. Grace Poe emphasized.

Poe, whose presidential bid is anchored on building a "Gobyernong may Puso," is reacting to the bloody dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato last April 1, which left three dead and more than a hundred injured.

The senator said the government should be more proactive in providing aid to the poor.

"Hindi na dapat umabot sa puntong iyan. Dapat unahin ng mga LGU ang mga nagugutom. Maraming magsasaka ang gutom. Ang irigasyon, 'di umaabot ang tubig," Poe said during a campaign sortie in Calaca, Batangas Friday.

"Kung ano man ang naging puno't dulong problema no'n, ito ang malinaw: marami pa ring mga nagugutom na mga kababayan natin at ito ay hindi katanggap-tanggap. Kailangan ang gobyerno mismo ang lumalapit para tumulong." she said. "Wag nang dumating sa punto na mamamalimos ang ating mga kababayan," she said.

If they win, Poe and running mate Sen. Francis Escudero vowed to allocate P300 billion for agriculture, the biggest allocation yet for the sector. This will provide free irrigation and other climate-resilient facilities to help farmers cope with the impacts of extreme weather events such as the El Nino phenomenon.

Poe also committed to add more beneficiaries to the conditional cash transfer program. She shared plans to expand the anti-poverty measure and include livelihood opportunities designed to empower the poor.

"Kailangan ang gobyerno mismo ang lumalapit para tumulong. Kung merong itinuro sa akin si FPJ noon, ang sabi ng aking ama: 'ang pinakamahirap sa isang tao ay aminin niya na walang-wala siya, na kailangan niya ng tulong, sapagkat lulunukin niya ang kanyang pride para lumapit sa'yo. Hihintayin mo pa ba na mamalimos ang isang tao?" Poe said.