5. What is policy of the Philippine government to address poverty? Give 5 policy of the government.

Although the poverty rate in the Philippines has been decreasing, current government initiatives are not
enough to reduce families’ vulnerability and to protect themselves against risks and losses to their
income. This prevents children from enjoying their rights to quality education, good health and
protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.

The Philippines aims to reduce the poverty rate to 14 percent by 2022. Without the safety net of social
protection programmes, children living below the poverty line face multiple vulnerabilities that threaten
their survival and growth. They easily end up suffering from poor health and malnutrition, reducing their
potential as adults and the nation’s ability to provide a good and strong workforce in the future.

Here are some of our government’s policies and programs to help alleviate poverty here in the
Philippines.

1. Republic Act 8425: Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act

This is an act institutionalizing the social reform and poverty alleviation program, creating for
the purpose the national anti-poverty commission, defining its powers and functions, and for
other purposes.

2. Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

This is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional
cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of
children aged 0-18.

3. Kapit–Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services Project
(KALAHI-CIDSS)
This is a community-driven development project that seeks to improve local governance,
empower communities, and improve access to services and basic infrastructure.

4. Philippines Poverty Environment Initiative: Environment and Natural Resources Revenues and
Benefits for Poverty Reduction and Environmental Sustainability
This initiative focuses on poverty reduction and sustainable development by integrating pro-
poor agenda and environmental concerns into development planning and decision-making
process. It aims at demonstrating that, if managed properly and sustainably, natural resources
can propel the country to a path of an inclusive and sustainable development.

5. Overseas Filipinos Diaspora Remittances for Development: Building a Future Back Home
This project addresses the goal of harnessing the potential of overseas remittances for poverty
reduction and consequently, local economic development. In the long-run collective remittances
of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) could become a powerful source of investment to spur
economic development.
Poverty Reduction. (2015). UNDP in Philippines.
https://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/overview.html

PHILIPPINE ANTI-POVERTY POLICY NAPC SECRETARIAT Reforming Philippine Anti-Poverty Policy. (n.d.).
https://napc.gov.ph/sites/default/files/documents/articles/Reforming%20Philippine%20Anti-Poverty
%20Policy.pdf

‌
The current government initiatives are not enough to reduce families’ vulnerability and to protect
themselves against risks and losses to their income. This prevents children from enjoying their rights to
quality education, good health and protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.

The Philippines aims to reduce the poverty rate to 14 percent by 2022. Unfortunately, poverty is
expected to increase in the Philippines because of the coronavirus crisis. This will lead to a decrease in
consumption growth and further income losses. Therefore, greater efforts are necessary to combat
poverty in the Philippines amid the pandemic, which has hit the impoverished the hardest. – Zoë Nichols

‌Combating Poverty in the Philippines

1. Greater Access to Education

A factor of systemic poverty is a lack of access to education in impoverished areas. People gain
basic skills and increased job opportunities through education, which can help to combat
poverty in the Philippines. Therefore, the Philippines signed the Universal Access to Quality
Tertiary Education Act in 2017 to encourage more people to enroll in higher education and to
address the issue of education inequality. The government subsidizes the cost of tuition for
State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) students as well as other expenses such as school
supplies. Private institutions also have access to a tuition subsidy. The Act aims to decrease the
number of dropouts in higher education and promote the idea that higher education is available
to all.

2. Greater Access to Healthcare

In an effort to improve the healthcare system, President Duterte signed the Universal
Healthcare Act in February 2019. The UHC Act provides access to the full spectrum of healthcare
by enrolling citizens in the National Insurance Program and granting health coverage to all.
While healthcare is not completely free, those in poverty will have more access to health
services. To ensure the effectiveness of healthcare, the Act will form the Health Technology and
Assessment Council (HTAC). The Council will consist of health experts who will assess health
developments, such as technology, vaccines and other advancements. Additionally, the
Philippines will allocate more funds to PhilHealth, which will improve the quality of service and
lower the cost of medicine.

3. Family Aid
To further efforts to support citizens, the government implemented the Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program (4Ps) in 2007. The 4Ps is is a conditional cash transfer program for
impoverished households. The program gives households grants so long as they meet certain
requirements, including keeping the children in school, having regular health check-ups and
having parents or guardians attend Family Development Sessions. The 4Ps program benefits
about 20 million Filipinos, 9 million of whom are children. Therefore, the program reaches about
20% of the population with the goal of greater poverty reduction.

4. Economic Improvement
With the goal of reducing poverty by strengthening economics, President Duterte signed the
Rice Tariffication Law in February 2019, amending the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996. The
Law places a 35% tariff on imported rice with the goal of prioritizing local rice production for the
 population by stabilizing the supply. The tariff also aims to benefit local farmers by creating a
more efficient and competitive agricultural system.

5. Build, Build, Build

Additionally, the Duterte administration created the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure plan in
2017. The initial goal of the program was to complete 75 projects, but Duterte revised the plan
to instead target finishing 100 projects. Some projects include new public transportation and
airport renovations. The government has put about 34% of the projects into action and is
expecting to complete 56% by 2022. By 2019, the government had completed two of the initial
75 projects. With support from loans, the Philippines will rely on Build, Build, Build as a strategy
to aid the country in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The government’s hope is that
combatting the effects of the pandemic by improving the country’s infrastructure will stimulate
the economy and create more jobs. However, the program has received criticism due to its slow
execution as a result of underspending.

Borgen Project. (2020, September 25). Poverty in the Philippines | The Borgen Project. The Borgen
Project. https://borgenproject.org/tag/poverty-in-the-philippines/