Aira Jane P.

Gonzales
2018-04051

Take a look at your group's 10-point program for national industrialization. Detail
out your OWN participation in that 10-point program. How will you, as yourself,
participate in the areas that your group has identified? Be as concise as you can
without sacrificing clarity and the necessary explanation.

The Philippines with about a hundred million population, immense natural resources,
source of labor all over the world and a home of brilliant minds is nothing but also a nest
with a defective domestic economy which unable to produce basic goods and services
needed by the its own citizens. The national industrialization program that we are
proposing is about building an independent, self-reliant and prosperous nation where it
offers opportunities and services to the Filipinos to the different parts of the country and
not just focused on the development near the capital.
In my utmost opinion, the national industrialization roadmap that we currently
acclimate was largely oriented and dependent towards international investment and
companies. It somehow brought inferiority to our own capabilities thus lowering the
productivity and the quality of readily available services. Our 10-point industrialization
plan is centered on creating progressive pro-Filipino policies with a hope for long-term
sustenance and development.

a. Invest in Filipino Science & Technology Industry

Investment towards Science and Technology is a key driver for a
long-term growth of an economy. Since technology plays a main part
on industries, the government must allocate more funds into
research in order to encourage scientists to invent, discover and
create technologies which are catered to the needs of the Filipino
people. Specifically, innovations in the food system, in the mining
and processing of natural resources such as oil and mineral ores,
and energy generation can help in the integration of strategies that
can accelerate progress towards being a self-sufficient and
sustainable country that caters to its people.

In my opinion, having a strong advocacy that can withstand the

deteriorating status of our science and technology industry can help
in its restoration and improvement. These setbacks that we are
currently facing right now should not discourage us but rather may
serve as guide for the improvement and the development of its
policies and programs. Thus, as a BS Community Nutrition
undergraduate, the status of our science and technology should not
be a hindrance in the creation of solutions in solving nutritional
problems in our country.
b. Action Plan towards the complete eradication of malnutrition and micronutrient
deficiency cases among the Filipinos
Persistent growing number of malnutrition cases including
micronutrient deficiencies and rapidly rising rates of overweight and
obesity have summarized the Philippine’s nutrition transition.
Investing in strategic action plan that undergoes consultative process
and effective measures could certainly reduce the burden of
nutritional problems in our country. The allocation of budget in the
creation of a coordinating body for the implementation and
monitoring of the programs, projects and nutrition-related activities in
the country can open potential opportunities on the complete
eradication of malnutrition. To support the implementation of the
program, the governing body should focus on the development of the
skills of the people who will be involved in the program. They should
provide adequate training to the nutritionists, health workers and
doctors to properly equip them with necessary skills in the delivery
of nutrition services. It is also expected that the nutrition advocacy
will be backed up in the legislative body by passing important
nutrition bills that will strengthen the implementation of the program.
It is also vital to establish a livelihood assistance program to
nutritionally at-risk families to assist them in creating small-scale
income generating projects that could generate additional sources of
income for the whole family to be able to buy their food and other
commodities. Lastly, aside from national governing body, it is
expected to have local and regional nutritional administrative body
who will regularly monitor the home, community, barangay and
school in terms of their nutrition status. It is also vital to have health
workers and nutritionists-dietitian who can specifically help and
advice the people on the right measures that they can do to improve
their health.

As a BS Community Nutrition student, it is very rewarding to be in a

career path that gives me an opportunity to have a positive impact
on the lives of others, especially to the marginalized. I have come to
realize that having adequate knowledge in nutrition gives me an
advantage to help in strategizing for the improvement of the
population’s health and wellbeing. I came to appreciate the important
role that nutritionists play in the prevention of diseases and the
application of their knowledge to identify practical solutions to
important public health problems ranging from the small health
sectors up to the national level. with the assessment of the current
nutritional problems present in our country, I believe I can give
beneficial suggestions to the extenuation of these problems. I believe
that the Philippines’ battle towards nutritional problems is
progressive rather than adamant. It is progressive in such a way that
it is constantly strategizing and striving to solve these problems thus
 the creation of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition. In addition,
we can really see that the government has been trying to eliminate
poverty and hunger, to promote health and wellbeing and to secure
access to safe drinking water. However, it is poverty that
continuously deprive people of access to nutritious food and drinking
water. The poor conditions of our health care sector both local and
national levels say a lot about the faulty system that we are currently
implementing. If these nutritional problems have been striving for the
last thirty years and we are still not successful in mitigating them,
maybe this is the time for the government to formulate an effective
system that could potentially provide an effective solution. This
worsening nutritional status of the Filipinos should be an eye-opener
to our leaders that there is something wrong to the system that we
are currently applying. Also, the government should stop their denial
to the current status of our healthcare system rather they should
accept their mistakes and start formulating for effective and
preventive measures. Furthermore, if we are trying to combat
malnutrition and other nutritional problems, we need to think in terms
of concentric circles. We need to bring together the efforts from
government, NGOS, private sectors and individuals. The battle
towards malnutrition should not divide people into two different
spectrums rather it should unite them towards the same vision of
completely eliminating the problems. The next frontier for us is to
create a collaborative force of people having similar goals to create
an effective intervention to make an impact and completely eliminate
these nutritional problems. Aksyon Pinas!

c. Capacity building of the farmers

A proposed program, RISE has features which promotes
highly Pro-Filipino industrialization strategy which gives much
prioritization to the Filipino ownership and control over agricultural
industries and sectors. This includes the reformation of the current
agrarian policies such as giving focus on the capacity building of the
farmers. This aims to support the farmers increase their production
and their financial ability in investing to their own farm.

All the things change every day. You can never be sure. New opportunities come and go.
Half of this battle is about the preparation - studying and knowing the situation and the
present problem. Sometimes when we are too absorbed to our own problems, we tend to
centralize our ideologies and solution to that certain concern inclusive to us. It is good to
step back, look at the bigger mechanism of how certain things happen, assess the real
problem, know what you can change and what you can’t change. Lastly, accept that fact
that you cannot change everything in the same time.