QC gov’t revitalizes anti-poverty program

The Quezon City government has revitalized its poverty alleviation program to deliver much needed basic services to the city’s 2.4 million residents, particularly those in poor communities.

In a recent speech before the Quezon City Development Council at the Philippine Social Science Center, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. gave his assurance that city will continue to identify poverty alleviation measures that would effectively respond to needs of the city’s underprivileged sector.

He said the city government is determined to provide the poor additional opportunities in employment, livelihood, education, health and social services.

"The city anti-poverty program is a work in progress. We will still have to do more to help the poor," Belmonte said.

Among the initiatives is to propel the city’s economy by inviting investors to pour in their capital. This will help provide employment and income opportunities for the poor and finance various development programs that would redound to the benefit of the city’s underprivileged sector.

The mayor said the city’s anti-poverty integration task force continues to sustain its effort to ensure that the greater number of city residents benefit from various programs.

La Rainne Abad Sarmiento, head of the Sikap Buhay task force, cited the gains achieved, namely job placements for over 22,000 residents, disbursement of P150 million worth of non-collateralized capital loans to more than 14,000 small scale entrepreneurs all over the city, supporting the education of over 7,000 scholars and helping students in public schools through the Center for Excellence in Training Technology and Research facility.

The city health department is also continuing its efforts to deliver basic services in urban poor areas. – Perseus Echeminada