The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has entered into separate agreements with five local government units (LGUs) in Cebu and Southern Leyte to effectively carry out the government’s program designed to reduce poverty in the country.
The Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) were signed between NAPC Secretary and Lead Convenor Atty. Noel K. Felongco and Mayor Jose Antonio Pintor (Asturias, Cebu), Mayor Danny Diamente (Tuburan, Cebu), Mayor Carlo Villamor (Carmen, Cebu), Mayor Jane Ruales (Bontoc, Southern Leyte), and Mayor Rustico Estrella, Sr. (Pintuyan, Southern Leyte).
Under the agreement, the NAPC will provide the LGUs with policy guidelines and direction to ensure proper implementation of the Sambayanihan: Serbisyong Sambayanan framework and the Ka- Sambayanihan Volunteers Program.
The agency will also monitor the progress of the program, coordinate closely with the LGUs, assist them in conducting Vulnerable Risk Assessment on coastal communities, and help in the social preparation of informal settler families in case of relocation.
Sambayanihan is a five-year development framework for 2019-2023 aimed at providing guidance for the NAPC’s efforts, including the convergence of the government’s anti-poverty programs, projects, and services. This is in response to the administration’s goal of bringing down the country’s poverty incidence from 21.6 % in 2015 to 14% by 2022.
As proof of support for the program, the LGUs committed to adopt Sambayanihan as their anti- poverty program and help NAPC and its volunteers in implementing Sambayanihan and Kasambayanihan in their areas of jurisdiction.
They also agreed to provide logistical and administrative assistance to NAPC such as office space and utilities as well as support the formation of the Provincial Consultative Body, assign an LGU staff to act as focal person: share the necessary LGU data pertinent to the implementation of the program subject to the Data Privacy Act, and ensure the safety and security of the NAPC personnel and volunteers.
“The MOA signing seals the covenant between NAPC and the LGUs so that together and in partnership with other national government agencies and the private sector, we can achieve the goal of overcoming poverty in our country,” said Secretary Felongco.
Through the program, the NAPC expects to provide informal settler families and the urban poor with basic services and access to climate-responsive dwellings, livelihood, and employment; develop innovative infrastructure and financing mechanisms for the rural poor; strengthen rural-urban agro- economic value chains; secure the health and general well-being of poor communities; and enhance food security.
NAPC was established to serve as the coordinating and advisory body for the implementation of the social reform and poverty alleviation agenda. It coordinates with different national and local government agencies and the private sector to ensure full implementation of all social reform and poverty alleviation programs.
