Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act

Section 5

To support the above-stated policy, the National Anti-Poverty Commission, hereinafter referred to as the NAPC, is hereby created under the Office of the President, which shall serve as the coordinating and advisory body for the implementation of the SRA. The Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty (PCFP), the Social Reform Council (SRC), and the Presidential Council for Countryside Development (PCCD) are hereby abolished and the NAPC shall exercise the powers and functions of these agencies. The NAPC shall be the successor-in-interest of the three (3) abolished commissions and councils. The creation and operationalization of the NAPC shall be guided by the following principles: (1) Incorporation of the Social Reform Agenda into the formulation of development plans at the national, regional, sub-regional and local levels; (2) Efficiency in the implementation of the anti-poverty programs by strengthening and/or streamlining present poverty alleviation processes and mechanisms, and reducing the duplication of functions and activities among various government agencies; (3) Coordination and synchronization of social reform and poverty alleviation programs of national government agencies; (4) Exercise of policy oversight responsibilities to ensure the attainment of social reform and poverty alleviation goals; (5) Strengthening of local government units to more effectively operationalize the SRA in local development efforts; (6) Institutionalization of basic sectoral and NGO participation in effective planning, decision-making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the SRA at all levels; (7) Ensuring adequate, efficient and prompt delivery of basic services to the poor; and (8) Enjoining government financial institutions to open credit and savings windows for the poor, and advocating the creation of such windows for the poor among private banking institutions.

Section 6

The President of the Republic of the Philippines shall serve as Chairperson of the NAPC. The President shall appoint the Lead Convenor of the NAPC, either from the government or private sector, who shall likewise serve as the head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretariat, and shall have the rank of a Cabinet Secretary. There shall be a vice-chairperson for the government sector and a vice-chairperson for the basic sectors; the former to be designated by the President, and the latter to be elected among the basic sector representatives of the NAPC as vice-chairperson for the basic sector; and the following as members: (1) Heads of the following government bodies: (a) Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR); (b) Department of Agriculture (DA); (c) Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); (d) Department of Budget and Management (DBM); (e) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); (f) Department of Health (DOH); (g) Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS); (h) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); (i) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); (j) Department of Finance (DOF); (k) National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); (l) People's Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC), subject to Sec. 17 of this Act; and (m) Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP). (2) Presidents of the Leagues of Local Government Units: (a) League of Provinces; (b) League of Cities; (c) League of Municipalities; (d) Liga ng mga Barangay. (3) Representatives from each of the following basic sectors: (a) Farmers and landless rural workers; (b) Artisanal fisherfolk; (c) Urban poor; (d) Indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples; (e) Workers in the formal sector and migrant workers; (f) Workers in the informal sector; (g) Women; (h) Youth and students; (i) Persons with disabilities; (j) Victims of disasters and calamities; (k) Senior citizens; (l) Nongovernment organizations (NGOs); (m) Children; and (n) Cooperatives. Sectoral councils formed by and among the members of each sector shall respectively nominate three (3) nominees from each sector within six (6) months after the effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations of this Act, and every three (3) years thereafter and in case of vacancy. The President of the Republic of the Philippines shall, within (30) days after the submission of the list of nominees, appoint the representatives from the submitted list. Sectoral representatives shall serve for a term of three (3) years without reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy for basic sector representatives shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor. The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act shall contain the guidelines for the formation of sectoral councils, the nomination process, recall procedures and such other mechanisms to ensure accountability of the sectoral representatives.

Section 7

The NAPC shall exercise the following powers and functions: (1) Coordinate with different national and local government agencies and the private sector to assure full implementation of all social reform and poverty alleviation programs; (2) Coordinate with local government units in the formulation of social reform and poverty alleviation programs for their respective areas in conformity with the National Anti-Poverty Action Agenda; (3) Recommend policy and other measures to ensure the responsive implementation of the commitments under the SRA; (4) Ensure meaningful representation and active participation of the basic sectors; (5) Oversee, monitor and recommend measures to ensure the effective formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs and resource allocation and management of social reform and poverty alleviation programs; (6) Advocate for the mobilization of funds by the national and local governments to finance social reform and poverty alleviation programs and capability building activities of people's organizations; (7) Provide financial and non-financial incentives to local government units with counterpart resources for the implementation of social reform and poverty alleviation programs; and (8) Submit an annual report to Congress including, but not limited to, all aspects of its operations and programs and project implementation, financial status and other relevant data as reflected by the basic reform indicator.

Section 8

The NAPC shall establish its principal office in Metro Manila and may establish such branches within the Philippines as may be deemed necessary by the President of the Philippines to carry out the powers and functions of the NAPC.

Section 9

The NAPC shall be supported by a Secretariat, which shall be headed by the Lead Convenor referred to under Sec. 6 hereof. The Secretariat shall provide technical and administrative support to the NAPC. It shall be formed from the unification of the secretariats of the following bodies: (1) Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty (PCFP); (2) Social Reform Council (SRC); and (3) Presidential Council for Countryside Development (PCCD). Within three (3) months from the effectivity of this Act, the Office of the President shall finalize the organizational plan for the NAPC. To provide the continuity of existing social reform and poverty alleviation related programs, all accredited organizations under the three (3) unified councils and commissions shall be automatically accredited under the NAPC until such time that additional accreditation requirements may be provided by the NAPC.

Section 10

The People's Development Trust Fund (PDTF) is hereby established, which shall be monitored by the NAPC. The Trust Fund in the amount of Four billion and five hundred million pesos (P4,500,000,000.00) shall be funded from the earnings of the PAGCOR in addition to appropriations by Congress, voluntary contributions, grants, gifts from both local and foreign sources as may be accepted or decided on by the NAPC. Any additional amount to the Trust Fund shall form part of the corpus of the Trust Fund, unless the donor, contributor or grantor expressly provides as a condition that the amount be included in the disbursible portion of the Trust Fund. The President of the Philippines shall assign to any existing government department or agency the administration of the Trust Fund, based on the expertise, organizational capability, and orientation or focus of the department or agency. The NAPC shall be limited to the function of monitoring the utilization of the PDTF, while the government departments or agencies designated by the President shall directly administer the utilization of the earnings of the PDTF. Only the fruits of the PDTF shall be used for the purposes provided in this Act. Any undisbursed fruits for the preceding year shall form part of the disbursible portion of the PDTF in the following year. For the purpose of monitoring the earnings of the PDTF, the NAPC shall: (1) Source funds for the establishment of and augmentation to the Trust Fund; (2) Recommend to the appropriate government department or agency the accreditation of organizations and institutions that shall act as resource partners in conducting institutional development and capability building activities for accredited organizations and beneficiaries of microfinance and micro-enterprise programs; (3) Ensure that validation and monitoring activities are conducted for funded institutional development and capability building projects/programs/beneficiaries; and (4) Promote research and development work on livelihood and microfinance technology and publications/communications programs that assist the poor beneficiaries.

Section 11

The earnings of the PDTF shall be utilized for the following purposes: (1) Consultancy and training services for microfinance institutions and their beneficiaries on the establishment of the necessary support services, social and financial preparation of beneficiaries, preparation of plans and programs including fund sourcing and assistance, establishment of credit and savings monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; (2) Scholarships or training grants for microfinance staff and officers, and selected beneficiaries; (3) Community organizing for microfinance, livelihood and micro-enterprises training services; (4) Livelihood/micro-enterprise project/program feasibility studies and researches; (5) Savings mobilization and incentive programs, and other similar facilities; (6) Information and communication systems such as baseline surveys, development monitoring systems, socioeconomic mapping surveys, organizational assessments, and other similar activities; (7) Legal and other management support services such as registration, documentation, contract review and enforcement, financial audit and operational assessment; (8) Information dissemination of microfinance technology; and (9) Other activities to support microfinance as approved by the designated agency administering the PDTF. The PDTF may be accessed by the following: (a) Registered microfinance organizations engaged in providing micro-enterprise services for the poor to enable them to become viable and sustainable; (b) Local government units providing microfinance and micro-enterprise programs to their constituents: Provided, That the PDTF shall not be used by the LGUs for personal services and maintenance and other operating expenses; and (c) Local government units undertaking self-help projects where at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total earnings of the PDTF shall be used exclusively for the provision of materials and technical services.

Section 12

The local government units, through the local development councils of the province, city, municipality, or barangay shall be responsible for the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the National Anti-Poverty Action Agenda in their respective jurisdictions. The LGUs shall: (a) Identify the poor in their respective areas based on indicators such as the minimum basic needs approach and the human development index, their location, occupation, nature of employment, and their primary resource base and formulate a provincial/city/municipality anti-poverty action agenda; (b) Identify and source funding for specific social reform and poverty alleviation projects; (c) Coordinate, monitor and evaluate the efforts of local government units with the private sector on planning and implementation of the local action program for social reform and poverty alleviation; and (d) Coordinate and submit progress reports to the National Anti-Poverty Commission regarding their local action programs. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as diminishing the powers granted to the local government units under the Local Government Code.