Lawmaker seeks better social services for Metro Manila residents

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the House of Representatives yesterday vowed to push for improvement of social services for residents of Metro Manila.

Manila 1st District Rep. Manuel Luis Lopez, chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development, has committed to work on legislative measures to improve the well-being and quality of life of 14 million residents in the National Capital Region.

Lopez said his committee would prioritize Metro Manila’s perennial problems on poverty, lack of access to basic social and health services and worsening traffic.

During the committee’s first hearing last week, Lopez called for closer coordination between Congress and various agencies in the executive branch to help in the speedy and efficient delivery of government services.

He lamented that the NCR, which currently has a population of close to 14 million, has the highest poverty incidence rate in the country.

“In the first part of 2019, we were unable to deliver social services to the people due to the inadvertence of some agencies. We want to avoid this because we don’t want people to suffer,” Lopez told representatives of various frontline agencies.

He also cited the importance of improving infrastructure and fast-tracking social services in the NCR, where 61 percent of total employment in the country is located.