MANILA, July 16 — Residents of Barangay 286, Delpan, Tondo, Manila were the first ones to benefit from the government’s latest anti-poverty program which was launched on Sunday.
The ‘Kilos SAMBAYANAN’ (Kilos para sa Sampung Batayang Pangangailangan) project aims to focus on the 10 basic needs of poor Filipinos in the country such as food, land reform, water, shelter, work and national industrialization, healthcare, education, social protection, healthy environment, peace, and people’s participation.
The program was spearheaded by several government agencies including the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster (HDPRCC) composed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).
On the part of the DOLE, Assistant Secretary Gloria Tango said the department’s main tasked is to provide work, business and livelihood to Filipinos.
“Ang pagbibigay ng trabaho, negosyo at kabuhayan para sa mamamayan. Meron silang pamimilian ang formal employment, o employer-employee relationship of self employment, ito ay sa pamamagitan ng livelihood programs para sa ibat ibang sector,” she explained.
On the other hand, NAPC Secretary Liza Maza said the holding of the information caravan is to inform the people about the programs of the government that could avail and to make the services accessible to them.
“Ang programang ito ay panawagan sa ahensya ng gobyerno na tugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng mga mahihirap nating mga kababayan. Ito rin hakbang para iparating at ilapit sa taong bayan ang mga serbisyo ng ating gobyerno,” she said.
Maza noted that the program is a call for convergence and commitment among all sectors of society to address poverty across its many dimensions. It also represents the ultimate measuring of the impact of government programs on the lives of the poor.
“The deprivation that the poor suffer from far too complex and diverse to be defined by one – dimensional measures such as income. Ang kahirapan ay hindi lamang kakulang sa kita. Ang kahirapan ay hindi pagkamit ng isang tao ang mga bagay na bumubuo sa maayos na pamumuhay gaya ng pagkain, tirahan, manikins na tubid, hanggang sa mga oportunidad para sa pagpapaunlad ng sarili gaya ng edukasyon, trabaho, pensyon atbp.,” she added.
The said barangay has some 7,000 residents, 85 percent are informal settlers, according to Barangay Chairman Abet Loresto.
He is thankful that their Barangay was given the opportunity to hold such event, as he is certain that many of his constituents will benefit from the programs and services to be provided by the government.
“Nagpapasalamat ako kasama ang aking mga kabarangay sa pagdaos ng proyektong ito dito sa aming Barangay,” the local government official said.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported at least 20 million Filipinos are still poor. The minimum wage of PHP454 for agricultural and manufacturing workers, and PHP491 for non-agricultural workers.
It added that 1.3 million families or 8.2 million Filipino do not have enough income to cover their monthly expenses on food.
“We are bringing Kilos SAMBAYANAN closer to the poor and marginalized sectors because our goal is to create a strong mass movement, politically and economically empowered to ensure that their needs are being addressed by their government, through active participation in governance and nationalist development,” Maza added.
Aside from information caravan, different services provided by the different government agencies, thru the one-stop shops, where the residents were provided medical, dental services, securing health cards, among others.
On the other hand, the NAPC head revealed that similar event will also be held in Quezon City next month and also in other areas in the country soon. (Ferdinand G. Patinio/PNA)
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