COMMITTEE ON POVERTY

House of Representatives
Committee Meeting via Zoom
September 1 , 2020

Agenda:
Committee Report on the Substitute Bill to HB 5249 – Granting 50% discount on funeral services to
indigent families and granting free funeral services to extremely poor families nationwide,
appropriating funds therefor (Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate)  

HBs 4407, 4470, 4764 & 5250 – Institutionalizing the community-driven development approach as a
national strategy for inclusive growth and social protection, mandating all national government
agencies and departments, including their attached agencies, offices and bureaus, local government
units, and other government instrumentalities to implement their community-based programs,
activities, and projects, and appropriating funds therefor (Reps. Maximo Dalog Jr., Lianda Bolilia, Allen
Jesse Mangaoang, and Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong)

I. Loyda Egina, Community Volunteer from Surigao del Sur

a. The program has a big impact to herself and her community.
b. In the beginning, the people were difficult to convince to participate in the
program.
c. They have gained much knowledge through the capacity building initiatives. They
now know the process of procurement under the law even if they did not finish
their formal education.
II. DSWD Director Armas
a. 674 more municipalities to benefit from this program including those affected by
the typhoon in the last 4 years.

III. DBM Representative Jane Abella

a. Have reservation on DSWD as implementing agency. It used to be a foreign-
funded project.
b. How will this be funded given the fiscal situation of the country? Will there not
be double funding in view of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) and the
Supreme Court’s Mandanas ruling on the same?
c. The Mandanas Doctrine clarifies that the share from the Internal Revenue
Allotment (IRA) of the local government units (LGUs) does not exclude other
national taxes like customs duties.  The exclusion of other national taxes like
customs duties from the base for determining the just share of the LGUs
contravened the express constitutional edict in Section 6, Article X of the 1987
Constitution.

IV. DBM Charmaine Velasco