House approves ‘Magna Carta of the Poor’

By: Marc Jayson Cayabyab - 10 years ago

FILE PHOTO/congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines—A bill, which seeks to uplift the lives of the impoverished through employment, feeding programs and education, is passed on third and final reading in the House of Representatives.

The “Magna Carta of the Poor” or House Bill 4629 aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating poverty and hunger.

The measure seeks the help of the private sector in financing and implementing poverty alleviation programs and projects.

Under the measure, the government is mandated to prioritize investments on anti-poverty programs for the poor to participate in the country’s progress.

The bill also compels all departments, agencies and instrumentalities of government to provide full access of its services to the poor.

The bill cited the following fundamental rights of the poor: right to adequate food, decent work, relevant and quality education, adequate housing, and the highest standard of mental and physical health.

Under the bill, all government agencies are tasked to formulate its own National Poverty Reduction Plan, which consists of all sectoral and local poverty reduction plans of each barangay, municipality, city and province.

The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), assisted by the National Economic Development Authority, is tasked to compile and harmonize these plans.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), meanwhile, will review the poverty plan to be included in the national budget.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) is tasked to establish a system of classification of the beneficiaries of the government’s poverty alleviation programs.

The NAPC with the technical assistance of NEDA, is tasked to compile and harmonize these plans.

The source of the funds for the program will include those for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) Project of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Socialized housing programs of the National Housing Authority, among others.

The bill authorizes the DSWD and the Department of Agriculture to alleviate hunger especially in times of calamities as well as to implement feeding programs.

The DOLE is also authorized to ensure that the poor have access to job opportunities, and that private contractors fill in 30 percent of their skilled labor force to qualified poor workers; as well as to comply with labor standards, and educate and train the workers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are authorized to maintain a system of free public education in kindergarten, elementary and high school levels, make higher education accessible to the poor, and ensure access to technical and vocational education training.

Also, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council is authorized to prioritize socialized housing, as well as relocate families from hazardous zones.

The Department of Health, meanwhile, is mandated to provide the poor access to good, quality, health care.

The approved bill is a consolidation of different versions authored by representatives Raul V. Del Mar (1st District, Cebu City), Marcelino R. Teodoro (1st District, Marikina City), Erlinda M. Santiago (Part List, 1-SAGIP) and Ma. Victoria R. Sy-Alvarado (1st District, Bulacan).

At least 182 or more than half of the House of Representatives are co-authors, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.