Philippines pools poverty schemes under Cabinet Secretary

The new Philippine President’s first formal order has been to improve cross-government efforts to reduce poverty.

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. to oversee 12 agencies that deal with poverty in his first Executive Order issued yesterday.

The move aims to streamline poverty schemes across government and create more “responsive” programmes.

“These agencies shall primarily evaluate existing poverty reduction programs and, if deemed necessary, formulate a more responsive set of programs complementing existing ones," allocating proper resources for these efforts, Duterte said in the order.

The agencies will develop “specific programs and projects that seek to reduce poverty [and] improve the lives of the most vulnerable sectors of society”, the order added.

Agencies will consult with local government units on the allocation of resources and programme implementation, and advise the central government on this matter.

The 12 agencies are the Cooperative Development Authority Housing; the Urban Development Coordinating Council; the National Anti-Poverty Commission; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples; the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos; the National Food Authority; the National Youth Commission; the Office of the President-Presidential Action Center; the Philippine Commission on Women; the Philippine Coconut Authority; the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor Technical Education; and the Skills Development Authority. Image from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s facebook page