Duterte signs Magna Carta of the Poor

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the bill that ensures the poor are granted ready access to government services and encourages the private sector to invest in poverty alleviation programs.

Duterte signed the Magna Carta of the Poor (Republic Act 11291) on April 12, a copy of which was released by Malacañang on Monday.

The law tasks concerned government agencies to guarantee that the rights of the poor to adequate food, decent work, free, relevant and quality education, adequate housing, and highest attainable standard of health will be met.

The agencies include the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Under the new law, the government is mandated to establish a system of progressive realization or implementation to provide the requirements, conditions, and opportunities for the full enjoyment of the fundamental rights of the poor.

It also tasks the DSWD, in coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission to identify and target its beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries must be individuals whose income falls below the poverty threshold as defined by the NEDA, and those who cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing or other essential amenities of life.

Senator Leila de Lima, a proponent of the new law, welcomed the development.

“The dream of the poor for a better future is within reach with the signing of this law. Finally, their pleas have been heard and the state will be their refuge,” she said in a statement.

Any donation, contribution, and grant which may be made to the programs implemented under the National Poverty Reduction Plan will be exempt from the donor’s tax. The implementers of the socialized housing resettlement program will also enjoy incentives.

The NAPC shall monitor the progress of the implementation of the law.  — Virgil Lopez, Margaret Claire Layug/RSJ, GMA News