The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) will put up a satellite office in Davao City to better serve the people of Mindanao.
NAPC Secretary Noel Felongco said there is a need to have an office here for better implementation of NAPC programs for Mindanaoans especially the people belonging to the 14 basic sectors of society.
The 14 basic sectors are the artisanal fisherfolk, farmers and landless rural workers, urban poor, indigenous peoples, formal labor and migrant workers, workers in the informal sector, women, children, youth and students, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, victims of disasters and calamities, non-government organizations, and cooperatives.
“Dako kaayo among challenge diri sa Mindanao considering nga ang NAPC is Manila-based ang opisina. So, maglisod gyud siya sa pag implement sa iyang mandate diri sa Mindanao (We are facing big challenge here in Mindanao considering the office of NAPC is Manila-based. So, we are having difficulty in implementing our mandate here in Mindanao),” he said.
Felongco said he already asked Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista to give them space in its regional field office here in the city.
“Akong feeling nga positive man nga ma-accommodate mi diri sa regional office (I positively feel that we will be accommodated in their regional office),” he said.
He said the office will in place the implementation of plans and programs will be now harmonize since the people working will have venue for their meetings unlike without an office which he noticed that the implementations are fragmented and not organized.
Felongco said the NAPC is now focused on the implementation of their program dubbed as Sambayanihan which aim to alleviate and reduce poverty and is premised on developing rural and urban agriculture and industry as the most important preconditions for overcoming extreme poverty.
One of its components is the Mindanao Special Development Program which recognizes the island region as ‘historically neglected amid the numerous development plans of previous administration.’
“This component will correct this historical neglect and seek to leapfrog the entire island into the 21st century,” he said.
The other components are providing the informal settler families and urban poor with services and access to climate -responsive dwelling, livelihood and employment.
There will be development of innovative infrastructure and financing mechanisms for the rural poor and strengthening rural-urban agroeconomic value chains.
The program will also aim in securing the health and the general well-being of poor communities and enhance food security.
