GMA vows to achieve anti-poverty agenda

President Arroyo vowed yesterday to reduce "cyclical" poverty and improve the country’s quality of life by the end of her six-year term of office.

The President made this commitment in her official reaction to the 2004 Common Country Assessment report released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

In a statement released by Malacañang, Mrs. Arroyo said she would use the five reform packages she unwrapped in her July 28 State of the Nation Address (SONA) and her 10-point "legacy" program to "overcome cyclical poverty and bring all our people to the threshold of a dignified life."

"The synergy of our five reform packages and our 10-point agenda will elevate the quality of life of our people by delivering the totality of jobs, good governance, justice, education and basic needs," she said. "Quality of life as well as education as the alleviation of poverty is our aim for the next six years."

The UNDP report warned the government that its gains in the battle against poverty were being threatened by the high incidence of corruption in the country. It blamed corruption for siphoning off as much as P100 billion of the annual budget that could have otherwise financed development programs for the poor.

"The UNDP report mirrors a slight improvement but our gains are threatened by economic and fiscal constraints," Mrs. Arroyo said.

In her SONA, the President asked Congress to support five reform packages: job creation and economic growth, anti-corruption and good governance, social justice and basic needs, education improvement and youth opportunity, and energy independence and savings.

The packages give teeth to the 10-point agenda she unveiled in her June 30 inaugural address. The agenda commits the administration to, among others things, the creation of as much as 10 million new jobs, an "education for all" program, computerized elections, decentralized development and a balanced budget.