Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon Ci

17" Congress
First Regular Session

nouse pit No.__478

Introduced by HON. JOSE ANTONIO R. SY-ALVARADO,

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Last March 18, 2016 the Philippine Statistics Authority released the first semester statistics for
2015 which showed that poverty incidence was at a whopping 26.3 percent. This figure represents the

measured poverty incidence or the proportion of people below the poverty line to the total population.

ies indicate that a fan

The same stal

ly of S needs at least P 6, 365.00 average monthly to meet the basic
food only needs and another P 9,140.00 monthly to include non-food needs.

Given the alarming and unchanging number of poor Filipinos, there is a need for the State to
ensure that the basic rights of the poor are protected, thus, the filing of this bill. This Representation
remains optimistic that with a little more discussion in both Houses, a law which aims to protect the rights
them equal access to basic

of the poor by givin ghts and government services

Indeed, poverty alleviation is the Government’s primordial concern that requires employment

‘opportunities to be created and expanded which aims to provide a decent and productive means to the
poor and their basic rights to food, shelter, and education which often takes the backseat and therefore

neglected.

It is the fervent hope of this Representation that the Magna Carta for the Poor bill be signed i

law at the soonest possible time.

Hence the approval of this fneasure is earnestly sought after.

JOSE ANTONIO R. SY-ALVARADO



HOUSE REPRESENT AVES
RECEIVED
pare 30 SUN 2016

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES}
Quezon City

17" Congress
First Regular Session

House BILLNo. 478 |_BILLS aNo INDEX seaVicE |

Introduced by HON. JOSE ANTONIO R. SY ALVARADO.

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”

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. ~itis 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 concems of the
poor, and shall institutionalize long-term strategies and solutions for the
‘empowerment of the poor;

(d) Government strategies shall enhance and promote the capabilities and competencies
of the basic sectors, the nongovernment organization (NGOs) and people's
organization (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

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

(a) Basic sectors shall refer to the disadvantaged sectors of the Philippine society
including, farmer-peasants, artisanal fisher folk, workers in the formal sector
including migrant workers, workers in the informal sector, indigenous peoples and
cultural communities, women, persons with disabilities, senior citizens victims of
calamities and disasters, youth and students, children and urban poor.

(©) 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 university
accepted corporate principles and practices.



(c) 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,

(d) Nongovernment organizations (NGOs) shall refer to duly registered nonstick,
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.

(@) Peoples’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 joint together to achieve a lawful common social or
economic end.

@ 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.

(@) National Poverty Reduction Plans — refers to aggregation and consolidation of
sectoral and local plans through a bottom up approach from the Local Poverty
Reduction action plan towards the formulation of the national plan.

SEC.

Scope of the Fundamental Rights of the Poor. — the government shall establish a
system of progressive realization or implementation to provide the requirements,
conditions and opportunities for the full enjoyment of the following rights of the
poor which are essential requirements towards poverty alleviation:

a) The Right to Adequate Food is the right of individuals or families to have
physical and economic access to adequate and healthy food, or the means to
procure it. The Department of Social welfare and Development agencies
concerned shall:

1) Undertake necessary actions to mitigate and alleviate hunger especially in times
of calamities/natural and human-induced disasters;

2) Fully implement and maintain supplementary feeding programs in day care
centers and schools;

3) Ensure the availability, accessibility and sustainability of food supplies in a
quantity and quality sufficient to meet the dietary needs of poor individuals and
families; and

4) Proactively engage the poor in activities intended to promote their food self-
sufficiency and strengthen their access to resources and means to ensure food
security.

b) The Right to Decent Work is the right to the opportunity to obtain decent and
productive employment in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human
dignity. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other
implementing agencies concerned shall:



(1) Ensure that the poor shall have access to information regarding employment
openings in private enterprises and in government programs and projects
especially regarding available emergency employment opportunities for families
displaced by calamities/natural and human-induced disasters or relocated from
hazardous/danger zones;

(2) Ensure the compliance of private contractors and subcontractors doing national
and local government or any local government unit (LGU), to fill in thirty
percent (30%) of the skilled labor requirements by qualified workers who come
from the poor sector and who are residents of 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;

(3) Promote livelihood among the poor. These implementing agencies shall provide
technical and administrative support to help the poor establish their livelihood
enterprise using loans obtained from them;

(4) Ensure compliance with core labor standards, address the job and skills
mismatch, and enhance human capital through education and training; and

(5) Provide an environment for more inclusive tripartism to achieve more broad-
based representation of interests and make decision-making highly participatory
through social dialogue at the firm and industry levels.

(c)The Right to Relevant and Quality Education is right to attain the full
development of the human person.

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:

(1) Maintain a system of free public education in the kindergarden,
elementary and highly schools levels;

(2) Make higher education accessible to all poor individuals and families.
They shall expand the programs of providing socialized college
education to the poor, including students loans or study-now-pay-later
plans, in state/local universities and colleges: Provided that the students
qualify maintain good academic standing; and

(3) Ensure access to quality technical/vocational education and training
through scholarships, subsidies and financial assistance to ensure decent
and productive employment subject to compliance to qualification
requirements and availability of funds.

(@) The Right to Adequate Housing is the right to have a decent, affordable, safe
and culturally appropriate place to live in, with dignity, security of tenure, in
peace, with access to basic services, facilities, and livelihood.

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and
other implementing appropriate shall:
(1) Prioritize the implementation of the socialized housing program with
identified appropriate subsidies;
(2) Immediately construct and provide housing facilities for families living in
identified hazardous/danger zones where the housing needs of the poor are
urgent;



(3) Create an enabling environment that will assist the poor gain access to
security to tenture with the least financial burden; and

(4) Provide a system consisting of simple requirements and procedures, and
expeditious processing and approval especially for community-based
socialized housing/people’s proposals.

(€) The Right to the Highest Attainable standard of Mental and Physical Health
is the right to have equitable access to variety of facilities, goods, services
and conditions necessary for the realization of the highest attainable
standard of health. The Department of Health (DOH) and other
implementing agencies concemed shall:

(1) Ensure equitable access to a system of good quality health care and
protection that is also available, accessible, and acceptable to the poor;

(2) Provide for comprehensive, universal, culture-sensitive, and gender-
responsible health services and programs which include: (i) maternal and
child health and nutrition; (ii) access to ethical, legal, medically safe and
effective reproductive health services and supplies; (iii) promotion of
breastfeeding; (iv) prevention and management of reproductive tract
infections, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS; (v) provision of
immunization against major infection diseases occurring in the community
and (vi) prevention, treatment and control of epidemic and endemic
diseases;

(3) Reduce the financial burden of health care and protection of the poor
through a socialized health insurance program with the end view of totally
eliminating out-of-pocket expenses; and

(4) Provide health-related and education and information to the community

SEC 5. Non-Dimunition of the 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 the right to avail of
greater rights offered by existing laws, including those granted under
this Act.

‘SEC.6 Social Protection. The government shall build an effective social
protection system to ensure the protection of the poor form any risk or
contingency. The system shall social insurance, safety nets, social
welfare and labor market interventions which are affordable and
accessible. This social protection shall likewise be afforded in during
bilateral and multilateral negotiations, including arrangements to be
entered in with international financial institutions.

SEC.7. System for Targeting of Beneficiaries. ~ The NEDA shall design and
establish a single system of classification to be used for targeting
beneficiaries.

SEC.8. The National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP) and Enhanced
Coordination and Government Agencies. — All government agencies
shall formulate within one hundred (100) days from the issuance of
the rules and regulations to implement this Act, a comprehensive and
convergent plan to set the thresholds to be achieved by the government
for each of the recognized rights of the poor. This plan shall consider
all sectoral and local poverty reduction plans of each barangay,
municipality/city and province. The National Anti-poverty
Commission (NAPC), with the technical assistance of the NEDA,
shall be tasked to compile and harmonize these plans. The Department



‘of Budget and Management (DBM) shall likewise review the NPRP
for inclusion in the Budget of implementing agencies.

‘SEC. 9. Participation of the Basic Sectors and of the Local Government Units
(LGUs). ~The NAPC shall ensure that the basic sectors and the LGUs
are engaged in the formulation and in the implementation of the NPRP.
‘The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall

monitor the compliance of the LGUs in aligning their respective
development, investment, and poverty reduction plans NPRP, and in
implementing the same.

SEC. 10.Funding Requirements. ‘The funding for the poverty alleviation and
projects implemented under this Act shall be sourced from the existing
appropriations as authorized under the General Appropriations Act of
the different departments and agencies implementing these programs
including those enumerated below:

(a) DSWD — Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programs (4Ps) and Sustainable
Livelihood Program(SLP):

(b) DOLE — Special Program for Employment (SPES) and Tulong
PangHanapBuhay sa ating Disadvantaged Workers “TUPAD” Project;

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

(d)DepED — Alternative Learning System (ALS) and Government
Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE);

(€)CHED ~ Students Financial Assistance Program (STUFAP);

(f)NHA ~ Socialized housing program

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

(h)PhilHealth — Expanded Primary care Package for the Poor.

Any additional funds to 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.11. Private Sector Participation. — the private sector is highly encouraged
to be an active partner in the financing and implementation of poverty
alleviation programs and projects. The government agencies
implementing these programs shall be authorized to accredit
development partners, who may accept donations, aids or grants, in
cash or in kind, from duly accredited sources to meet the demands of

and uphold the basic rights of the poor to adequate food, decent work,
relevant and quality education, adequate housing, and the highest
attainable standard of mental and physical health. Acceptance and use
of such donations, aids or grants, shall be transparent and subject to
government applicable regulations.

‘SEC. 12. Tax Exemptions. — Any donation, contribution and grant which may be
made to the sponsored program shall be exempt from the donor's tax
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 of republic Act. No. 7279,
otherwise known as the “Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992”.



‘SEC. 13,Rational Allocation of Funds. ~ DBM shall be principally responsible
for the efficient and rational allocation of available funds to be different
‘government and agencies to support the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 14. Implementation Through a System of Progressive realization. —
Nothing in this City Shall be construed in any manner as requiring the
government to undertake the immediate implementation of all poverty
alleviation programs. The government shall set programmatic
standards to be achieved over time depending upon the availability of
necessary resources and in consideration of economic resource
constraints.

SEC.15. Compliance Report. ~The NAPC shall be tasked to oversee and
‘monitor compliance with this Act. Within six (6) months thereafter, all
implementing departments and agencies shall submit a report to the
NAPC on their respective compliance with the provisions of this Act
which, in tum, shall submit a compliance report to the House
‘Committee on poverty Alleviation and to the Senate Committee on
‘Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development

SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within six (6) months from
the effectively of this Act, the NAPC shall, in coordination with the
government departments and agencies, with the participation of the

LGUs and the basic sectors, promulgate rules and regulations to carry
out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 17. Separability Clause. ~ If for any reason, any section or provision of

this Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or
provisions which are not affected shall continue to be in full force and
effect,

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause.- All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations
and rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 19. Effectively. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
Publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.

Approved,