Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City, Philippines K REPRESS

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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS //3” RECEIVED iA
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HOUSE BILL NO. A52\ on

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INTRODUCED BY HONORABLE MARCELINO “MARC’ Yet:

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Statistics show that majority of Filipinos live below poverty line in the midst of the
crippling economic condition that seems to worsen each day. The State has the
responsibility to uplift the standard of living and quality of life of the poor and provide them
with sustained opportunities for growth and development.

Indeed, poverty alleviation is a government concern that primarily requires the creation
and expansion of employment opportunities geared towards providing decent and productive
employment to the poor and the protection of their basic rights to shelter, food and education
which are often neglected, if not abandoned

The proposed measure seeks to provide a magna carta of the poor. It hopes to
institutionalize recognition of the basic rights of the poor, relating to education, health,
employment, delivery of basic services, etc. in order to set in place necessary government
interventions to address the genuine concerns of the poor — which are now concerns for daily
survival — while long term strategies and solutions for the economic empowerment of the poor
are being put in place.

Hence, this bill should immediately be enacted into law to truly alleviate poverty and
bring relief to our poor people.

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MARCELINO “MARCY” R. TEODORO.

Representative, 1" District
City of Marikina


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.

INTRODUCED BY REP. MARCELINO “MARCY” R. TEODORO.

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:

SECTION 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Magna Carta of the Poor”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to uplift the standard of
living and quality of life of the poor and provide them with sustained opportunities for growth and
development. The alleviation of poverty is likewise a responsibility of government that primarily
requires the creation and expansion of employment and livelihood opportunities involving a gradual
shift from government subsidy to the eventual empowerment of the poor to meet their minimum basic
needs,

In pursuit of this policy, the following guiding principles are hereby adopted:

(a) Government shall prioritize investments in anti-poverty programs to enable the poor to fully
participate in the country’s growth and development;

(b) All government departments, agencies and instrumentalities shall provide full access to
‘government services for the poor at all levels;

(c) Government shall strengthen interventions to address the genuine concerns of the poor for
daily survival, and shall institutionalize long-term strategies and solutions for the empowerment of the
poor and for the protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources to ensure
sustainable development;

(d) Government strategies shall enhance and promote the capabilities and competencies of the
basic sectors, the nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs), as
development partners of the government for the effective delivery and implementation of a wide range
of anti-poverty programs and basic services; and

(e) Government shall ensure adequate and decent employment and living wage for the basic
sector workers,

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms are hereby defined:

(@) Basic sectors shall refer to the disadvantaged sectors of Philippine society including, but not
limited to, farmer - peasants, artisanal fisherfolk, workers in the formal sector including migrant


workers, workers in the informal sector, indigenous peoples and cultural communities, women,
differently-abled persons, senior citizens, victims of calamities and disasters, youth and students,
children and urban poor:

(b) Cooperative shall refer to a duly registered association of at least fifteen (15) persons, the
majority of whom are poor, who have a common bond of interest and voluntarily work together to
achieve a lawful common social and economic end. It is organized by the members who equitably
contribute the required shared capital and accept a fair share of the risks and benefits of their
undertaking in accordance with the universally accepted corporate principles and practices.

(©) Development partners shall refer to NGOs, POs and private corporations which are engaged
in programs and activities aimed at alleviating the condition of the poor.

(@) Hazardous/danger zones shall refer to areas, which when occupied for residential or business
purposes, pose a danger to the life and safety of the occupants or of the general public.

(©) Nongovernment organizations (NGOs) shall refer to duly registered nonstock, nonprofit
organizations focused on the upliftment of the basic or disadvantaged sectors of society by providing
advocacy, training, community organizing, research, access to resources, protection of the environment
and conservation of natural resources, and other similar activities.

(f) People’s organizations (POs) shall refer to self-help groups belonging to the basic sectors
and/or disadvantaged groups composed of members having a common bond of interest, who
voluntarily join together to achieve a lawful common social or economic end

(g) Poor shall refer to individuals or families whose income falls below the poverty threshold as
defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and/or who cannot afford in a
sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing or other
essential amenities of life. Under this Act, the poor shall be identified by the National Anti-Poverty
Commission (NAPC), in coordination with the basic sectors, the local government units (LGUs), the
NEDA and other government agencies. As such, the NAPC shall be the sole repository of all
consolidated data on the poor

SEC, 4. Fundamental Rights of the Poor — The poor shall have the following rights, the
enjoyment of which is an essential requirement towards poverty alleviation:

(a) The right to food;

(b) The right to employment and livelihood;

(©) The right to relevant and quality education;

(@) The right to shelter, and

(€) The right to basic health services and medicines.

The government shall, as a matter of duty and obligation, provide the requirements, conditions
and opportunities for the full enjoyment of these rights of the poor. The poor can demand this full
enjoyment as a matter of right

(1) The Right to Food. ~ The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall
expand a program of subsidy to help the poor meet their minimum food necessities. The DSWD shall
issue food certificates to the poor to enable them to obtain food items from stores duly accredited by
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTD),


To help ensure the implementation of the food subsidy program, all food items and food products,
including rice, corn, sugar and other prime commodities, seized and forfeited with finality in favor of
the government for violations of customs laws shall be automatically transferred to and/or turned over
to the DSWD for proper disposition

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the LGUs shall develop a complementary program to
food subsidy so that the poor can engage in productive activities that promote food self-sufficiency
among the poor.

(2) The Right to Employment and Livelihood. ~ The Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE), in coordination with development partners especially trade unions; the Presidential
Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP); and the LGUs, shall be responsible for ensuring that the poor
shall have access to information regarding employment openings in private enterprises and in
government programs and projects. The DOLE, through the Public Employment Service Office
(PESO), shall likewise provide displaced families with referral to and information regarding available
emergency employment opportunities in the community.

Thirty percent (30%) of the skilled labor requirements of private contractors and subcontractors
doing national and local public work projects funded by either the national government or any LGU,
must be filled by qualified workers who come from the poor sector and who are residents of the LGUs
where these projects are undertaken: Provided, That where the number of available resources is less
than the required percentage provided therein, said requirements shall be based on the maximum
number of locally available labor resources and shall be certified by the municipal, city, provincial or
district engineer as sufficient compliance with the labor requirements under this Act.

Programs that promote livelihood among the poor shall be implemented by the concerned
‘government agencies with the participation of development partners and other juridical entities, These
agencies shall provide technical and administrative support to help the poor establish their livelihood
enterprise using loans obtained from the same. The government shall provide employment and
livelihood opportunities to the poor who are displaced by natural calamities or relocated from
hazardous/danger zones,

(3) The Right to Relevant and Quality Education. - The right of the poor to free public
elementary and secondary education shall not be impaired

The Department of Education (DepED), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the
‘Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), in coordination with development
partners concerned, shall ensure the full enjoyment of the poor of the right to relevant and quality
education, including preferential access to science high schools.

The right to education shall include access to quality and relevant education at the college level.
The programs of providing socialized college education to the poor, including the student loans or
study-now-pay-later plans, shall be expanded in state/local universities and colleges: Provided, That the
students qualify and maintain good academic standing

It shall also include the right to free availment of quality technical/vocational education and
training to ensure access to decent and productive employment.

(4) The Right to Shelter — The government shall develop and implement a well-targeted and


responsive subsidy scheme that will provide decent housing with the least financial burden. This
scheme shall ensure the security of tenure for the poor beneficiaries.

In ensuring the exercise and enjoyment of this right of the poor, the government shall put in place
a system consisting of simple requirements and procedures, and expeditious processing and approval

‘The LGUs, in coordination with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
(HUDCC) and the National Housing Authority (NHA), shall prioritize the implementation of the
socialized housing program. In identified hazardous/danger zones where the housing needs of the poor
are urgent, these agencies shall immediately construct and provide free housing facilities complete with
accessible road system at resettlement sites

(5) The Right to Basic Health Sérvices and Medicines. — The LGUs shall ensure and promote the
health of the populace, by providing basic and direct health services. They shall develop and implement
a system of free delivery of health services and medicines to the poor who permanently reside in their
locality. The Department of Health (DOH) shall provide the highly specialized level of health care and
technical assistance to LGUs and development partners in effectively implementing programs, projects
and services that will promote the health and well-being of every Filipino, especially the poor.
Government medical and health insurance programs under existing laws shall increase, expand and
liberalize their coverage so as to include socialized basic health services and medicines to the poor. The
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHlealth), in coordination with the LGUs, shall implement
an expanded primary care package for the poor.

SEC. 5. Other Rights of the Poor. ~ All other rights of the poor provided under existing laws
shall remain in full force and effect. Nothing herein shall be construed in a manner that will diminish
the enjoyment of such rights by the poor who shall have the right to avail of other rights offered by
existing laws, including those granted under this Act.

SEC. 6. Funding Requirements. ~ The funding provided for the pro-poor programs and
projects of the different departments and agencies, but not limited to those enumerated below, shall be
geared towards the implementation of this Act as follows:

(a) DSWD — Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Self-Employment Assistance-
Kaunlaran (SEA-K) and Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of
Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS);

(b) DOLE — Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and DOLE Integrated
Livelihood Program;

() TESDA — Skills training, Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA) and the
Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP),

(é) DepED - Alternative Learning System (ALS), Government Assistance to Students and
Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE);

(¢) CHED — Student Financial Assistance Program (STUFAP);

(®) NHA = Socialized housing program;

(g) DOH — Basic health care services including potable water system; and

(h) PhilHealth — Expanded primary care packages for the poor.

‘Any deficiency in the existing appropriations of the pro-poor programs in the different


departments and agencies shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its
enactment into law and thereafter.

SEC. 7. Private Sector Participation. — The private sector is highly encouraged to be an active
partner for the empowerment of the basic sectors. The government implementing agencies shall be
authorized to accredit development partners. These agencies and accredited development partners are
hereby authorized to accept donations, aids or grants, in cash or in kind, from duly accredited sources,
to meet the demands of the basic rights to food, employment and livelihood, quality education, shelter,
basic health services and medicines. Acceptance and use of such donations, aids or grants, shall be
transparent and subject to government applicable regulations.

The government shall recognize top performing development partners.

SEC. 8. Jax Exemptions. — Any donation, contribution and grant which may be made to the
sponsored program shall be exempt from the donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as allowable
deduction from the gross income in the computation of the income tax of the donor in accordance with
the provisions of the “National Internal Revenue Code of 1997”, as amended.

‘The implementers of the socialized housing resettlement program shall enjoy the incentives stated
in Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7279, otherwise known as the “Urban Development and Housing Act
of 1992”

SEC. 9. Rational Allocation of Funds. — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM)
shall be principally responsible for the efficient and rational allocation of available funding
requirements as may be needed by the different government departments and agencies in implementing
this Act.

SEC. 10.Penalty. — Any public official or employee who knowingly or negligently permits the
violation of any provision of this Act shall be punished with a fine not exceeding the equivalent of six
(6) months salary or suspension not exceeding one (1) year or removal from office depending on the
gravity of the offense, after due notice and hearing, without prejudice to any other civil or criminal
liabilities.

Private contractors and subcontractors who violate Section 4 of this Act shall be prohibited
from participating in any future bidding for government-funded public works projects, after due
notice and hearing

Implementing agencies shall terminate the accreditation of development partners, which, after
due notice and hearing, have been found to violate any provision of their agreement. Development
partners who violate government regulations adverted to in Section 7 of this Act shall be prohibited
from participating in any government project, and shall restitute, in favor of government, all unused
and unliquidated monies

SEC. 11 Implementing Rules. — ‘The NAPC, in coordination with the government departments
and agencies, with participation of the LGUs and the basic sectors, shall promulgate rules and
regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act within six (6) months from its effectivity.

SEC. 12.Compliance Report. — The NAPC shall be tasked to monitor the compliance with this
‘Act. Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act and every six (6) months thereafter, all
implementing departments and agencies shall submit a report on the compliance with the provisions of


this Act to the NAPC, and the latter will report to the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation and to
the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development.

SEC. 13.Separability Clause. ~ If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof which are not affected shall continue
to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 14.Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

SEC. 15.Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect immediately upon its publication in any
newspaper of general circulation.

Approved, es