SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF 
THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
SENATE 
S,B.NO. 
2515 
Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA OF THE POOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
'1.1 
DEC 15 P 3 :21 
Despite the country's continued economic progress, majority of Filipinos 
continue to struggle on a daily basis according to the Philippine Statistics Authority 
(PSA). Fisherfolk and farmers remained the most indigent among the nine basic sectors 
that include children, the self-employed, unpaid family workers and women. The PSA 
reported that in the first six months of 2013, the poverty incidence was estimated at 24.9 
percent of the population while subsistence, which refers to the numbers of Filipinos 
living in extreme poverty, was at 10.7 percent. 
This bill, therefore, seeks to raise the standard of living and the quality of life of 
the underprivileged Filipinos. It shall adopt an area-based, sectoral, and focused 
intervention to poverty alleviation. This bill will ensure that each citizen will rightfully 
receive minimum basic needs through partnership between the government and its 
basic sectors. It shall institutionalize long-term strategies and solutions that will give the 
poor dignity and a better way of life. 
Under this measure, the govenunent will prioritize investments and anti-poverty 
programs to enable the poor to take part in the country's growth and development. All 
department, agencies and sectors of the government shall open its services to the poor. 
All government agencies shall be mandated to formulate its own National Poverty 
Reduction Plan (NPRP), which consists of all the sectoral and local poverty reduction 
plans of each barangay, municipality, city and province. 
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) with the assistance of the 
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) shall be in-charge of 
organizing these plans. The NEDA shall establish a system of classification of the 
beneficiaries of this program. 
The poverty plan will be included in the national budget which will be reviewed 
by the Department of Budget and Management. The funding will come from various 
'government programs including but not limited to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino' 
Program (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social 
Welfare and Development (DSWD), Special Program for Employment of Students 
(SPES) and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) 
Project of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Socialized housing 
programs of the National Housing Authority. Deficiencies in funding for the 
implementation of pro-poor programs by the different departments and agencies will 
be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year. 


The government is expected to implement the provIsIOns of this bill in 
accordance with a system of progressive realization over a period of time, depending on 
the availability of resources and economic resource constraints. 
In view of the abovementioned reasons, passage of the said measure is hereby 
recommended. 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF 
THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
'14 
DEC 15 P 3 :21 
SENATE 
S.B.NO. 
2515 
Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA OF THE POOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of tile Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
1 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Magna Carta of the Poor". 
2 
3 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State to uplift the 
4 
standard of living and quality of life of the poor and provide them with sustained 
5 
opportunities for growth and development. It shall adopt an area-based, sectoral, and. 
6 
focused intervention to poverty alleviation where every poor Filipino family must be 
7 
empowered to meet their minimum basic needs, through the partnership of the 
8 
government and the basic sectors. It is likewise vital that the State complies with its 
9 
international obligations to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal 
10 
primary education; promote gender equality and empowerment of women; reduce 
11 
child mortality; improve maternal health; combat Human Immunodeficiency 
12 
Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV / AIDS), malaria and other 
13 
diseases; and ensure environmental sustainability and development of a global 
14 
partnership for development. 
15 
16 
To attain the foregoing policy: 
17 
18 
(a) The government shall prioritize investments in anti-poverty programs to enable 
19 
the poor to fully participate in the country's growth and development; 
20 
21 
(b) All departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the government shall provide 
22 
full access of its services to the poor; 
23 
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(c) The government shall strengthen interventions to address the genuine concerns 
25 
of the poor and shall institutionalize long-term strategies and solutions for the 
26 
empowerment of the poor; and 
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(d) Government strategies shall enhance and promote the capabilities and 
29 
competencies of the basic sectors, the nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and 
30 
people's organizations (POs), as development partners of the government for the 
31 
effective delivery and implementation of a wide range of anti-poverty programs 
32 
and basic services. 
33 
34 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act: 
35 
1 


1 
(a) Basic sectors refer to the disadvantaged sectors of Philippine society including 
2 
farmer-peasants, artisanal fisherfolk, workers in the formal sector including 
3 
migrant workers, workers in the informal sector, indigenous peoples and 
4 
cultural communities, women, persons with disability, senior citizens, victims of 
5 
calamities/natural and human-induced disasters, youth and students, children, 
6 
the urban poor and members of cooperative; 
7 
(b) Development partners refer to NGOs, POs and private corporations which are 
8 
engaged in programs and activities aimed at alleviating the condition of the 
9 
poor; 
10 
(c) Hazardous/danger zones refer to areas which, when occupied for residential or 
11 
business purposes, pose a danger to the life and safety of the occupants or of the 
12 
general public; 
13 
(d) Nongovernment organizations (NGOs) refer to duly registered nonstock, 
14 
nonprofit organizations focusing on the upliftment of the basic sectors of society 
15 
by providing advocacy, training, community organizing, research, access to 
16 
resources, protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources 
17 
and other similar activities; 
18 
(e) People's organizations (POs) refer to self-help groups belonging to the basic 
19 
sectors composed of members having a common bond of interest who 
20 
voluntarily join together to achieve a lawful common social or economic end; 
21 
(f) Poor refers to individuals or families whose income falls below the poverty 
22 
threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority 
23 
(NEDA) and/or who cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their 
24 
minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing, or other essential 
25 
amenities of life; and 
26 
(g) National Poverty Reduction Plan refers to the aggregation and consolidation of 
27 
sectoral and local plans through a bottom-up approach, from the Local Poverty 
28 
Reduction Action Plan towards the formulation of the national plan. 
29 
30 
SEC. 4. Scope of the Fundamental Rights of the Poor. - The government shall establish 
31 
a system of progressive realization or implementation to provide the requirements, 
32 
conditions and opportunities for the full enjoyment of the following rights of the poor 
33 
which are essential requirements towards poverty alleviation: 
34 
35 
(a) The Right to Adequate Food is the right of individuals or families to have 
36 
physical and economic access to adequate and healthy food, or the means to 
37 
procure it. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the 
38 
Department of Agriculture (DA), and other implementing agencies concerned 
39 
shall: 
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(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. 
2 


1 
(b) The Right to Decent Work is the right to the opportunity to obtain decent and 
2 
productive employment in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human 
3 
dignity. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other 
4 
implementing agencies concerned shall: 
5 
6 
(1) Ensure that the poor shall have access to information regarding 
7 
employment openings in private enterprises and in government 
8 
programs and projects especially regarding available emergency 
9 
employment 
opportunities 
for 
families 
displaced 
by 
10 
calamities/natural and human-induced disasters or relocated from 
11 
hazardous/ danger zones; 
12 
(2) Ensure the compliance of private contractors and subcontractors 
13 
doing national and local public work projects, funded by either the 
14 
national government or any local government unit (LGU), to fill in 
15 
thirty percent (30%) of the skilled labor requirements by qualified 
16 
workers who come from the poor sector and who are residents of 
17 
the LGUs where these projects are undertaken: Provided, That 
18 
where the number of available resources is less than the required 
19 
percentage provided therein, said requirements shall be based on 
20 
the maximum number of locally available labor resources and shall 
21 
be certified by the municipal, city, provincial or district engineer as 
22 
sufficient compliance with the labor requirements under this Act; 
23 
(3) Promote livelihood among the poor. These implementing agencies 
24 
shall provide technical and administrative support to help the poor 
25 
establish their livelihood enterprise using loans obtained from 
26 
them; 
27 
(4) Ensure compliance with core labor standards, address the job and 
28 
skills mismatch, and enhance human capital through education and 
29 
training; and 
30 
(5) Provide an environment for more inclusive tripartism to achieve 
31 
more broad-based representation of interests and make decision-
32 
making highly participatory through social dialogue at the firm 
33 
and industry levels. 
34 
35 
(c) The Right to Relevant and Quality Education is the right to attain the full 
36 
development of the human person. The Department of Education 
37 
(DepED), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the 
38 
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), in 
39 
coordination with development partners concerned, shall: 
40 
41 
(1) Maintain a system of free public education in the kindergarten, 
42 
elementary and high school levels; 
43 
(2) Make higher education accessible to all poor individuals and families. 
44 
They shall expand the programs of providing socialized college education 
45 
to the poor, including student loans or study-now-pay-later plans, in 
46 
state/local universities and colleges: Provided, That the students qualify 
47 
and maintain good academic standing; and 
48 
(3) Ensure access to quality technical/vocational education and training 
49 
through scholarships, subsidies and financial assistance to ensure access 
50 
to decent and productive employment subject to compliance to 
51 
qualification reqUirements and availability of funds.7 
52 
3 


1 
(d) The Right to Adequate Housing is the right to have a decent, affordable, safe and 
2 
culturally appropriate place to live in, with dignity, security of tenure, in peace, 
3 
with access to basic services, facilities, and livelihood. The Housing and Urban 
4 
Development Coordinating Council (HUDeC) and other implementing agencies 
5 
concerned shall: 
6 
7 
(1) Prioritize the implementation of the socialized housing program 
8 
with identified appropriate subsidies; 
9 
(2) Immediately construct and provide housing facilities for families 
10 
living in identified hazardous/danger zones where the housing 
11 
needs of the poor are urgent; 
12 
(3) Create an enabling environment that will assist the poor gain access 
13 
to security of tenure with the least financial burden; and 
14 
(4) Provide a 
system consisting of simple requirements and 
15 
procedures, and expeditious processing and approval especially for 
16 
community-based socialized housing/ people's proposals. 
17 
18 
(e) The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Mental and Physical Health is 
19 
the right to have equitable access to a variety of facilities, goods, services and 
20 
conditions necessary for the realization of the highest attainable standard of 
21 
health. The Department of Health (DOH) and other implementing agencies 
22 
concerned shall: 
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28' 
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(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 care 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 8infections, sexually transmitted 
diseases, HIV and AIDS; (v) provision of immunization against 
major infectious 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 
education 
and 
information 
to 
the 
community. 
43 
SEC. 5. Non-Dimunition of the Rights of the Poor. - All other rights of the poor 
44 
provided under existing laws shall remain in full force and effect. Nothing herein shall 
45 
be construed in a maimer that will diminish the enjoyment of such rights by the poor 
46 
who shall have the right to avail of greater rights offered by existing laws, including 
47 
those granted under this Act. 
48 
49 
SEC. 6. Social Protection. - The government shall build an effective social protection 
50 
system to ensure the protection of the poor from any risk or' contingency. The system 
51 
shall include social insurance, safety nets, social welfare, and labor market interventions 
52 
which are affordable and accessible. This social protection shall likewise be afforded in 
4 


1 
and during bilateral and multilateral negotiations, including arrangements to be 
2 
entered into with international financial institutions. 
3 
4 
SEC. 7. System for Targeting of Beneficiaries. - The NEDA shall design and establish a 
5 
single system of classification to be used for targeting beneficiaries of the government's 
6 
poverty alleviation programs and projects to ensure that such programs reach the 
7 
intended beneficiaries. 
8 
9 
SEC. 8. The National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP) and Enhanced Coordination 
10 
and Convergence among Government Agencies. - All government agencies shall 
11 
formulate, within one hundred (100) days from the issuance of the rules and regulations 
12 
to implement this Act, a comprehensive and convergent plan to set the thresholds to be 
13 
achieved by the government for each of the recognized rights of the poor. This plan 
14 
shall consider all sectoral and local poverty reduction plans of each barangay, 
15 
municipality I city and province. The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), with 
16 
the technical assistance of the NEDA, shall be tasked to compile and harmonize these 
17 
plans. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall likewise review the 
18 
NPRP for inclusion in the budget of implementing agencies. 
19 
20 
SEC. 9. Participation of the Basic Sectors and of the Local Government Units (LGUs). 
21 
- The NAPC shall ensure that the basic sectors and the LGUs are engaged in the 
22 
formulation and in the implementation of the NPRP. The Department of the Interior 
23 
and Local Government (DILG) shall monitor the compliance of the LGUs in aligning 
24 
their respective development, investment, and poverty reduction plans with the NPRP, 
25 
and in implementing the same. 
26 
27 
SEC. 10. Funding Requirements. - The funding for the poverty alleviation programs 
28 
and projects implemented under this Act shall be sourced from the existing 
29 
appropriations as authorized under the General Appropriations Act of the different 
30 
departments and agencies implementing these programs including those enumerated 
31 
below: 
32 
33 
(a) DSWD - Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood 
34 
Program (SLP); 
35 
(b) DOLE - Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and Tulong 
36 
Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers "TUPAD" Project; 
37 
(c) TESDA -
Skills Training, Private Education Student Financial Assistance 
38 
(PESFA) and the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP); 
39 
(d) DepED - Alternative Learning System (ALS) and Government Assistance to 
40 
Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE); 
41 
(e) CHED - Student Financial Assistance Program (STUFAP);lO 
42 
(f) NHA - Socialized housing program; 
43 
(g) DOH - Basic health care services including potable water system; and 
44 
(h) PhilHealth - Expanded Primary Care Package for the Poor. 
45 
46 
Allocations for the implementation of these programs and projects shall be given 
47 
preferential consideration in the funding allocation of the department/ agency budget. 
. 48 
Any additional funds to the existing appropriations of the pro-poor programs in the 
49 
different departments and agencies shall be included in the General Appropriations Act 
50 
of the year following its enactment into law and thereafter. 
51 
52 
SEC. 11. Private Sector Participation. - The private sector is highly encouraged to be an 
53 
active partner in the financing and implementation of poverty alleviation programs and 
5 


1 
projects. The government agencies implementing these programs shall be authorized to 
2 
accredit development partners, who may accept donations, aids or grants, in cash or in 
3 
kind, from duly accredited sources, to meet the demands of and uphold the basic rights 
4 
of the poor to adequate food, decent work, relevant and quality education, adequate 
5 
housing, and the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health. Acceptance 
6 
and use of such donations, aids or grants, shall be transparent and subject to 
7 
government applicable regulations. The government shall recognize top performing 
8 
development partners. 
9 
10 
SEC. 12. Tax Exemptions. - Any donation, contribution and grant which may be made 
11 
to the sponsored program shall be exempt from the donor's tax and shall be considered 
12 
as allowable deduction from the gross income in the computation of the income tax of 
13 
the donor in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 
14 
1997, as amended. The implementers of the socialized housing resettlement program 
15 
shall enjoy the incentives stated in Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7279, otherwise 
16 
known as the "Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992". 
17 
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SEC. 13. Rational Allocation of Funds. - The DBM shall be principally responsible for 
19 
the efficient and rational allocation of available funds to the different government 
20 
departments and agencies to support the implementation of this Act. 
21 
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SEC. 14. Implementation Through a System of Progressive Realization. - Nothing in 
23 
this Act shall be construed in any manner as requiring the government to undertake the 
24 
immediate implementation of all poverty alleviation programs. The government shall 
25 
set programmatic standards to be achieved over time depending upon the availability 
26 
of necessary resources and in consideration of economic resource constraints. 
27 
28 
SEC. 15. Compliance Report. - The NAPC shall be tasked to oversee and monitor 
29 
compliance with this Act. Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act and 
30 
every six (6) months thereafter, all implementing departments and agencies shall 
31 
submit a report to the NAPC on their respective compliance with the provisions of this 
32 
Act which, in turn, shall submit a compliance report to the House Committee on 
33 
Poverty Alleviation and to the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural 
34 
Development. 
35 
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SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within six (6) months from the 
37 
effectivity of this Act, the NAPC shall, in coordination with the government 
38 
departments and agencies, with the participation of the LGUs and the basic sectors, 
39 
promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.12 
40 
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SEC. 17. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is 
42 
declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions which are not 
43 
affected shall continue to be in full force and effect. 
44 
45 
SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules 
46 
and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are repealed, amended, or 
47 
modified accordingly. 
48 
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SEC. 19. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
50 
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
51 
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Approved, 
6