MANILA — Former director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Lilia de Lima challenged the world’s richest people to donate at least 1 percent of their wealth to the poor.
“If 1 percent of the world’s richest, can donate 1 percent of their wealth, it could pay the debts of poor families; that can eradicate poverty,” said De Lima at the panel session of the 1st Asian Forum on Enterprise for Society in Pasay City Tuesday, when asked of her one big idea for sustainable future.
She added that even if the world’s richest individuals would donate a percentage of their wealth for poverty eradication, these people still “have boundless wealth. The poorest of the poor have nothing to lose, so they go to terrorism, kidnapping, criminalities,” De Lima said, citing that poverty is one of the roots of criminal activities in the society.
De Lima served as PEZA director general for 21 years before she retired when the Duterte administration took office.
In her stint as the PEZA chief from 1995 to 2016, economic zones in the country increased from 16 to 343, while the number of locators reached 3,756, which reportedly brought in some PHP3 trillion worth of investments and created almost 1.2 million direct jobs.
She is a 2017 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee after being recognized by the award-giving body for her “honest, competent, and dedicated work” which contributed significantly to the Philippine economy. (Kris Crismundo/PNA)
