SIXTEENTH CONGRESS O~ THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
I 
Second Regular Session 
) 
'14 
AUG 19 P6 :34 
SENAU 
S.B. No. 
~370 
Introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino IV 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA OF THE POOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The country's economic performance in recent years has been impressive and 
unprecedented. Our 7.2% GDP growth in 2013 was the highest in the ASEAN earning the 
country improved investment grade ratings. Its economic climate is now attractive, viable and 
profitable for investors to come in. 
Despite these accomplishments, our country still faces a myriad of challenges - millions 
of ~ilipinos do not have jobs and a fifth of the populace is still poor. 
The daunting task for the State is how to capitalize on its outstanding growth, the 
critically acclaimed reform efforts and the renewed global confidence, in order to make growth 
more inclusive and felt by all of the one hundred million Filipinos. 
In the midst of this economic progress, it is essential for the State to craft policies so 
that every Filipino family is recognized regardless of the socio-economic status of its members, 
and their needs be taken cared and provided for. 
The proposed measure thus seeks to ensure the protection and promotion of five basic 
rights of every Filipino: the right to food, employment, education, shelter and basic health care. 
It supports the creation of a just and dynamic environment where prosperity is shared through 
the provision of adequate social services, enabling a rising standard of living and improved 
quality of life for everyone. 
As the Philippines grows, no Filipino should be left behind. 
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
'14 
AUG 19 P6 :34 
SENATE 
S.B. No. 2370 
Introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino IV 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA OF THE POOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
1 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Magna Carta ofthe Poor." 
2 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State to uplift the 
3 
standard of living and quality of life of the poor and provide them with sustained opportunities 
4 
for growth and development. It shall adopt an area-based, sectoral, and focused intervention to 
5 
poverty alleviation, where E!Very Filipino family must be empowered to meet its minimum basic 
6 
needs through the partnership of the government and the basic sectors. It is likewise vital that 
7 
the State complies with its international obligations to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 
8 
achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empowerment of women, 
9 
reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ 
10 
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/ AIDS), malaria and other diseases, ensure 
11 
environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. 
12 
To attain the foregoing policy: 
13 
a. Government shall prioritize investments in anti-poverty programs to enable the poor to 
14 
participate responsibly in the country's growth and development; 
15 
b. All government departments, agencies and instrumentalities must provide full access to 
16 
government services for the poor; 
17 
c. 
Government shall strengthen interventions to address the genuine concerns of the poor 
18 
and must institutionalize long term strategies and solutions for the empowerment of 
19 
the poor; 
20 
d. Government strategies shall enhance and promote the capabilities and competencies of 
21 
the basic sectors, the non-government organizations (NGOs) and people's organizations 
22 
(POs), as development partners of the government for the effective delivery and 
23 
implementation of a wide range of anti-poverty programs and basic services. 
'24 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms are hereby 
25 
defined: 
26 
a. Basic Sectors refers to the disadvantaged sectors of Philippine society including farmer-
27 
peasants, artisanal fisherfolks, workers in the formal sector and migrant workers, 
28 
workers in the informal sectors, indigenous people and cultural communities, women, 
29 
persons with disability, senior citizens, victims of calamities, natural and human-induced 
30 
disasters, youths and students, children, urban poor and members of the cooperative; 
31 
b. Development partners refer to NGOs, POs, and private corporations which are engaged 
32 
in programs and activities aimed at alleviating the conditions of the poor; 
2 


1 
c. 
Hazardous/danger zones refer to areas which when occupied for residential purposes 
2 
actually pose a danger to the life and safety of the occupants or of the general 
3 
community; 
4 
d. Non-government Organizations (NGOs) refer to duly registered non-stock, non-profit 
5 
organizations focusing on the upliftment of the basic sectors of society by providing 
6 
advocacy, training, community organizing, research, access to resources, protection of 
7 
the environment and conservation of natural resources, and other similar activities; 
8 
e. People's Organizations (POs) refer to self-help groups belonging to the basic sectors 
9 
composed of members having a common bond of interest, who voluntarily join together 
10 
to achieve a lawful common social and economic end; 
11 
f. 
Poor shall refer to individuals or families whose income fall below the poverty threshold 
12 
as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and/or cannot 
13 
afford to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and 
14 
other essential amenities in a sustained manner; 
15 
g. National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP) refers to the aggregation and consolidation of 
16 
sectoral and local plans through a bottom-up approach, from the local poverty 
17 
reduction action plans towards the formulation of the national plan. 
18 
SECTION 4. Scape and Content of the Rights of the Poor. -
The government shall 
19 
establish a system of progressive realization or implementation to provide the requirements, 
20 
conditions, and opportunities for the full enjoyment of the following rights of the poor which 
21 
are essential requirements towards poverty alleviation. 
22 
a. The Right to Adequate Food is the right of individuals or families to have physical and 
23 
economic access to adequate and healthy food, or the means to procure it. The 
24 
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of 
25 
Agriculture (DA), and other implementing agencies shall: 
26 
1. Undertake necessary actions to mitigate and alleviate hunger in times of natural 
27 
or human-induced disasters; 
28 
2. Fully implement and maintain supplementary feeding programs in day care 
29 
centers and schools; 
30 
3. Ensure the availability, accessibility, and sustainability of food supplies in a 
31 
quantity and quality sufficient to meet the dietary needs of individuals and 
32 
families; and 
33 
4. Proactively engage the poor in activities intended to promote their food self-
34 
sufficiency. 
35 
b. The Right to Decent Work is the right to the opportunity to obtain decent and 
36 
productive employment in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. 
37 
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall: 
38 
1. Ensure that the poor shall have access to information regarding employment 
39 
openings in private enterprises and in government programs and projects, 
40 
especially regarding available emergency employment opportunities for families 
41 
displaced by natural and human-induced disasters or relocated from hazardous/ 
42 
danger zones; 
43 
2. Ensure the compliance of private contractors and subcontractors doing national 
44 
and local public work projects funded by either the National Government or any 
45 
LGU to fill Thirty percent (30%) of the skilled labor requirements by qualified 
46 
workers who come from the poor sector and who are residents of the LGUs 
47 
where these projects are undertaken: Provided, that where the number of 
48 
available resources is less than the required percentage provided therein, said 
49 
requirements shall be based on the maximum number of locally available labor 
3 


1 
resources and shall be certified by the municipal, city, provincial or district 
2 
engineer as sufficient compliance with labor requirements under this Act; 
3 
3. Promote livelihood among the poor. These agencies shall provide technical and 
4 
administrative support to help the poor establish their livelihood enterprise 
5 
using loans obtained from the same; 
6 
4. Ensure compliance with core labor standards, address job and skills mismatch, 
7 
and enhance human capital through education and training; and 
8 
5. Provide an environment for more inclusive tri-partism to make representation 
9 
of interests of sectors more broad-based and highly participatory through social 
10 
dialogue at l'he firm and industry levels. 
11 
c. The Right to Relevant and Quality Education is the right to attain the full development 
12 
of the human person. The Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on 
13 
Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority 
14 
(TESDA), in coordination with development partners concerned, shall: 
15 
1. Maintain a system of free public education in the kindergarten, primary, and 
16 
secondary school levels; 
17 
2. Make higher education accessible to all poor individuals and families. They shall 
18 
expand the programs providing socialized college education to the poor, 
19 
including the student loans or study-now-pay-Iater plans, in state/local 
20 
universities and colleges; provided, that the students qualify and maintain good 
21 
academic standing; and 
22 
3. Ensure access to quality technical! vocational education and training through 
23 
scholarship, subsidies and financial assistance to ensure access to decent and 
24 
productive employment subject to compliance to qualification requirements 
25 
and availability of funds. 
26 
d. The Right to Adequate Housing is the right to have a decent, affordable, safe, and 
27 
culturally appropriate place to live in, with dignity, security of tenure, in peace, and 
28 
with access to basic services, facilities, and livelihood. The Housing and Urban 
29 
Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and other implementing agencies 
30 
concerned shall: 
31 
1. Prioritize the implementation of the socialized housing program with identified 
32 
appropriate subsidies; 
33 
2. Immediately construct and provide housing facilities for families living in 
34 
identified hazardous/ danger zones where the housing of the poor are urgent; 
35 
3. Create an enabling environment that will assist the poor to gain access to 
36 
security of tenure with the least financial burden; and 
37 
4. Provide a system conSisting of simple requirements and procedures, and 
38 
expeditious processing and approval especially for community-based socialized 
39 
housing/people's proposals. 
40 
e. The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Mental and Physical Health. The 
41 
Department of Health (DOH) shall: 
42 
1. Ensure equitable access to a system of good quality health care and protection 
43 
that is also available, accessible, and acceptable to the poor; 
44 
2. Provide for comprehensive universal, culture-sensitive, and gender-responsible 
45 
health services and programs which include (a) maternal and child health care 
46 
and nutrition; (b) access to ethical, legal, medically safe and effective 
47 
reproductive health services and supplies; (c) promotion of breastfeeding; (d) 
48 
prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, sexually 
4 


1 
transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS; (e) provide immunization against the major 
2 
infectious diseases occurring in the community; and (f) prevention, treatment, 
3 
and control of epidemic and endemic diseases; 
4 
3. Reduce the financial burden of health care and protection on the poor through 
5 
a socialized health insurance program, with the end view of totally eliminating 
6 
out-of-the pocket expenses; and 
7 
4. Provide health-related education and information to the community. 
8 
SECTION 5. Non-diminution of Benefits. - All other rights of the poor provided under 
9 
existing laws shall remain in full force and effect. Nothing herein shall be construed in a manner 
10 
that will diminish the enjoyment of such rights by the poor, who shall have the right to avail of 
11 
greater rights offered by existing laws including those granted under this Act. 
12 
13 
SECTION 6. Social Protection. - The government shall build an effective social 
14 
protection system to ensure the protection of the poor from any risk or contingency. The 
15 
system shall include social insurance, safety nets, social welfare, and labor market interventions 
16 
which are affordable and accessible. This social protection is further guaranteed under this law 
17 
by government in negotiating bilateral and multilateral agreements, including arrangements 
18 
concluded with international financial institutions. 
19 
SECTION 7. Systenn for Targeting of Beneficiaries.- The National Economic and 
20 
Development Authority (NEDA)-shall design and establish a single system of classification to be 
21 
used for targeting beneficiaries of the government's anti-poverty programs and projects to 
22 
ensure that such programs reach the intended beneficiaries. 
23 
SECTION 8. The National Poverty Reduction Plan and Enhanced Coordination and 
24 
Convergence Among Government Agencies. - All government agencies and offices must 
25 
therefore formulate, within one hundred (100) days from the issuance of the implementing 
26 
rules and regulations of this act, a comprehensive and convergent plan to set the thresholds to 
27 
be achieved by the government for each recognized right. This plan shall consider all sectoral 
28 
and local poverty reduction action plans of each barangay, municipal/city, and province. The 
29 
National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), with technical assistance of NEDA, shall be tasked to 
30 
compile and harmonize these plans. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall 
31 
likewise review the National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP) for inclusion in the budget of 
32 
implementing agencies. 
33 
SECTION 9. Participation of Basic Sectors and of the Local Government Units (LGUs). -
34 
NAPC shall ensure that the basic sectors and local government units are engaged in the 
35 
formulation and in the implementation of the National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP). The 
36 
Department of Interior and Local Government shall monitor the compliance of the LGUs in 
37 
aligning their respective development, investment, and poverty reduction plans with the NPRP, 
38 
and in implementing the same. 
39 
SECTION 10. Funding Requirements. - The funding for the pro-poor programs and 
40 
projects implemented under this Act shall be taken from the existing appropriations as 
41 
authorized under the General Appropriations Act of the different departments and agencies 
42 
implementing pro-poor programs including those enumerated below: 
43 
a. DSWD - Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood Program 
44 
(SLP); 
45 
b. DOLE - Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and Tulong Panghanapbhay 
46 
sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers "TUPAD" Project; 
47 
c. 
TESDA - Skills Training, Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA) and the 
48 
Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP); 
5 


1 
d. DepEd - Alternative learning System (AlS), Government Assistance to Students and 
2 
Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE); 
3 
e. CHED - Student Financial Program (STUFAP); 
4 
f. 
Social Housing and Finance Corporation (SHFC) - Socialized Housing Program (SHP); 
5 
g. DOH - Basic Health Care Services including Potable Water System; and 
6 
h. PhilHealth - Expanded Primary Care Packages for the Poor. 
7 
Any additional funds to the existing appropriations of the pro-poor programs in the 
8 
different departments and agencies shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the 
9 
year following its enactment into law and thereafter. 
10 
SECTION 11. Private Sector Participation. - The private sector is highly encouraged to 
11 
be an active partner in the financing and implementation of poverty alleviation programs and 
12 
projects. The government agencies implementing these programs shall be authorized to 
13 
accredit development partners, who may accept donations, aids or grants, in cash or in kind, 
14 
from duly accredited sources, to meet the demands of and uphold the basic rights of the poor 
15 
to adequate food, decent work, relevant and quality education, adequate housing, and the 
16 
highest attainable standard of mental and physical health. Acceptance and use of such 
17 
donations, aids or grants, shall be transparent and subject to applicable regulations of 
18 
government. 
19 
SECTION 12. Tax Exemptions. - Any donation, contribution and grant which may be 
20 
made to the sponsored program shall be exempt from the donor's tax and shall be considered 
21 
as allowable deduction from the gross income in the computation of the income tax ofthe 
22 
donor in accordance with the provisions of the "National Internal Revenue Code of 1997," as 
23 
amended. 
24 
The implementers of the socialized housing resettlement program shall enjoy the 
25 
incentives stated in Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7279, otherwise known as the "Urban 
26 
Development and Housing Act of 1992". 
27 
SECTION 13. Rational Allocation of Funds. - The Department of Budget and 
28 
Management (DBM) shall be principally responsible for the efficient and rational allocation of 
29 
available funds to the different government departments and agencies to support the 
30 
implementation of this Act. 
31 
SECTION 14. Implementation Through a System of Progressive Realization. - Nothing 
32 
in this Act shall be construed in any manner as requiring the Government to undertake the 
33 
immediate implementation of all poverty alleviation programs. The government shall set 
34 
programmatic standards to be achieved overtime, depending upon the availability of necessary 
35 
resources and in consideration of economic resource constraint. 
36 
SECTION 15. Compliance Report. - The NAPC shall be tasked to oversee and monitor 
37 
the compliance with this Act. Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act and every six 
38 
(6) months thereafter, all implementing departments and agencies shall submit a report to the 
39 
NAPC on their respective compliance with the provisions of this Act. NAPC, in turn, shall submit 
40 
a compliance report to the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation and to the Senate 
41 
Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development. 
42 
SECTION 16. Implementing Rules. - Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this 
43 
Act, the NAPC shall, in coordination with the government departments and agencies, with 
44 
participation of the lGUs and the basic sectors, promulgate rules and regulations to carry out 
45 
the provisions of this Act. 
6 


1 
SECTION 17. Effectivity. -
This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete 
2 
publication either in the Official Gazette or at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
3 
Approved, 
7