Gov’t aims to reduce poverty incidence to 17% by 2010

The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) wants to reduce poverty incidence in the country to 17 percent by year 2010 to achieve the United Nations’ millennium development goal (MDG) of cutting poverty in the country in half by 2015.

NAPC chief Domingo Panganiban yesterday said the government is determined to boost its programs to increase food production and ensure a steady food supply for the people.

Meanwhile, as part of the government’s poverty reduction program, Luzon Urban Beltway head Edgardo Pamintuan bared the construction of P200-billion worth of infrastructure projects for the "super region" by 2010. 

Pamintuan said these projects, including 15 road projects, are expected to leave an "imprint" for the Arroyo administration.

"There is a need to have a strong partnership with the local government units (LGUs) to fight poverty and uplift the lives of the poor," Panganiban said.

"Strong collaboration with the grassroots populations can transform the gains in economic recovery into people-centered growth with (better) focus on the government’s anti-poverty services in the 10 poorest provinces of the country," he also said.

Panganiban said there are around 24 million Filipinos who now live below the poverty line. Citing information from the census of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and National Statistics Office (NSO), the NAPC said that the country’s poverty incidence is at 24 percent.

According to Panganiban, the government plans to combat hunger through its Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Plan, which seeks to complement and strengthen government programs designed to meet the poverty reduction targets outlined in the UN MDGs.

To increase food production, Panganiban said the government will perk up its Barangay Food Terminals, Tindahan Natin and family farms. 

The government will also aim for the construction of more farm-to-market roads and irrigation systems, providing fishermen with fish cages and cold storage and the distribution of carabaos (water buffalo) and native chicken to farmers, he added.

Panganiban also called on financial institutions to shift their micro-finance programs to the poorest provinces in the country to help these localities advance.

He said shifting micro-finance programs to the poorest provinces will directly serve the poor of the country because these programs will support development activities in these areas.

Panganiban is also tapping the corporate management skills of big companies for the mobilization of social development initiatives in poor communities.

He believes that these efforts will turn the most disadvantaged areas of the country into "zones of opportunity and development."

According to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB) survey of 2003, the 10 poorest provinces are Zamboanga del Norte, Masbate, Maguindanao, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Mountain Province, Lanao del Norte, Camarines Norte, Saranggani and Zamboanga Sibugay.

As this developed, Pamintuan announced that P200-billion worth of infrastructure projects within the Luzon Urban Beltway (LUB) will be completed between next year and 2010, as some of the projects are already underway.

Pamintuan said that at least 15 "mega-infrastructure projects" for the LUB are now being put on the fast-track: "I am confident that we can attain our deadlines, ranging from 2007 till the end of (President Arroyo’s) term. We have resolved a few problems that somehow snagged some of the projects, and we are now moving full steam ahead."

Pamintuan said the case of the P7.35-billion Coastal Road extension to Bacoor, Cavite was finally resolved and that project construction commenced on Dec. 1, 2006.

It was agreed that the acquisition of the right-of-way, which costs P2.35 billion, will be shouldered by the national government, while the P5-billion construction cost of the project will be shouldered by the contractor.

The Coastal Road extension project, which is expected to ease the traffic along the Aguinaldo and Tirona highways, was delayed by the issues of the right-of-way and management arrangements between the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and United Engineers Malaysia-Manila Amanah Rakyat Philippine Corp. (UEM-MARA).

The 12.3-kilometer road project to extend the Coastal Road on reclaimed land from Longos, Bacoor to Kawit and to Noveleta, Cavite is under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme.

Pamintuan said the target completion date for the Coastal Road extension project is November 2008.

The P8.37-billion Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX) project, which includes the widening of the SLEX, is also expected to reach completion next year.

The 93.7-kilometer P20.97-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) is expected to be completed by November.

"The projects for LUB are all designed to enhance the investment and competitive climate of the region," Pamintuan said. "Industries would come and jobs would be created (as a result of the projects). Ultimately, the benefits would redound to our ordinary people."