As part of its anti-poverty measures, the Philippine government aims to reduce the poverty incidence to a single digit by the year 2028, according to National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Lope Santos III, who was the guest at the Weekly Media Forum of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday (November 30).

“Malaki ang target ng ating pangulo. Ibaba ang poverty incidence from 18.1 percent na naitala noong 2018 to single digit by 2028,” Sec. Santos told reporters during the weekly forum hosted by DSWD Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel Lopez and Traditional Media Service Director Aldrine Fermin.

To achieve this, the NAPC lead convenor underscored the importance of fulfilling the five fundamental rights of poor individuals which include quality education, decent shelter or housing, employment and livelihood opportunities, health services, and food security.

Sec. Santos explained the significant role of the different sectors, national government agencies, and local government units in uplifting the lives of the poor and marginalized population by providing programs and services that complement each other.

“Ang marching order niya i-prioritize ang program at magkaroon ng convergence ang mga national government agencies doon sa mga sektor at areas na nangangailangan,” Sec. Santos said as he bared the national anti-poverty action agenda of the Marcos administration to being down the poverty incidence in the country.

Created under Republic Act 8425 or the “Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act”, the NAPC serves as the coordination and monitoring body that ensures the responsive and complete implementation of all social reform and poverty-alleviation programs and commitments under the anti-poverty and social reform agenda of the administration.

“Ang NAPC, per mandate sa batas nito, hindi kami implementor… Ang isang mandato namin ay project monitoring. Ang mga programa ba na ito ay nakakababa doon sa ating mga kababayan? Kumusta ba ang implementasyon ng programa, mayroon bang suliranin? At kung meron, doon papasok ang mandato ng NAPC,” the NAPC Secretary emphasized.

As a monitoring body, the NAPC provides recommendations to help ensure the effective formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies, programs, and resource allocation and management of social reform and poverty-alleviation programs.

Talking about the status of poverty in the country, Sec. Santos cited a study revealing that many Filipinos say their current situation has been uplifted.

“That is a very good indication that the comprehensive approach of the Marcos administration is working,” the NAPC official pointed out.

Sec. Santos believes that convergence and harmonized efforts among basic sectors, and government agencies can greatly impact the overall agenda of the Marcos administration in reducing the poverty incidence in the country by the year 2028.

NAPC is one of the supervised agencies of the DSWD that oversees the productive collaboration on poverty-alleviation efforts and in the attainment of the fundamental rights of the poor. #