MAGNA CARTA OF THE POOR ON TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION

August 24, 2024 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

City Councilor Art Alad-iw representing City Mayor Benjamin Banez Magalong, led in the one-day orientation seminar on the Magna Carta of the poor which was approved in 2019 as a law which aims to give access to the poor in terms of health services, food , decent work , quality education adequate housing and opportunities available for
basic needs to the people. Alad-iw said reading the message of the mayor “ Thank you for bringing your event to the City of Baguio. I hope all invited LGUs are represented, especially that last week, so many roads were impassable
because of slides caused by the torrential rains”.

This law, RA 11291 or the Magna Carta of the Poor, was passed sometime in 2019. Perhaps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its IRR was approved or signed a little late, in 2021. This Magna Carta of the Poor, authored by Senator Leila Delima seeks to ensure that those at the bottom of society, the more vulnerable, are granted ready access to
government services—food, decent work, quality education, adequate housing, health and medical needs; and that
government establishes a system to provide the requirements, conditions, and opportunities for the availment of these basic needs of our people.

The magna carta also seeks to enjoin the private sector to invest in poverty alleviation programs. I hope the private sector is represented in this orientation through the various non-government and civil society organizations that
operate in our localities. It mandates the implementation of a social protection system and a system for targeting beneficiaries. A National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP) should have been crafted to set the thresholds to be achieved by the government for each of the recognized rights of the poor.

“ Marami palang dapat nailatag in order to implement the magna carta. I hope may mga na-accomplish na. I am
sure may mga birth pains and bottlenecks somewhere, especially that this is an inter agency, whole-of-nation
approach. And that is what this orientation is here for”. This one-day event hopes to result in a common understanding of the magna carta as well as the local poverty reduction action plan, and operationalize the guidelines that have been identified. May you be able to identify the bottlenecks in the implementation here in our
region and come up with solutions so that we ensure that no one is left behind.

The Councilor continued reading as “ We pray for a productive output from this group. The future of our less fortunate brothers and sisters in the region lies in your hands. Kung kaya naman po, sana wakasan, o kung hindi man ay bawasan ng malaki ang antas ng kahirapan nang sa ganoon, hindi na din po mamanahin ng susunod na henerasyon ng mga civil servants, o ng mga susunod na mamumuno, ang problemang ito. Para naman focus naman tayo sa ibang problema gaya ng pagpapabuti ng kapaligiran, ng ekonomiya, at iba pang aspeto ng pag-unlad
ng komunidad. Hanggat maraming nagugutom, hindi nakakapagaral, walang bahay, walang pampagamot, nakaka-konsensya di po ba? Alad-iw added that “ May you all be blessed with the right frame of mind so that you may accomplish the reasons why we are gathered together today”.