Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 8425)
The official title of Republic Act No. 8425 is the "Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act."
The primary policy objective is to adopt an area-based, sectoral, and focused intervention to poverty alleviation to empower every poor Filipino family to meet their minimum basic needs and to institutionalize the Social Reform Agenda (SRA).
Basic sectors refer to the disadvantaged sectors of Philippine society, namely: farmer-peasant, artisanal fisherfolk, workers in the formal sector and migrant workers, workers in the informal sector, indigenous peoples and cultural communities, women, differently-abled persons, senior citizens, victims of calamities and disasters, youth and students, children, and urban poor.
The NAPC is a commission created under the Office of the President that serves as the coordinating and advisory body for the implementation of the Social Reform Agenda (SRA). It abolishes the PCFP, SRC, and PCCD and takes over their functions to coordinate social reform and poverty alleviation programs.
The NAPC is composed of the President of the Philippines as Chairperson, a Lead Convenor with Cabinet rank, vice chairpersons for government and basic sectors, heads of specified government departments, presidents of local government leagues, and representatives of each basic sector.
The PDTF is established to provide funding support for social reform and poverty alleviation programs by disbursing earnings for microfinance consultancy, training, community organizing, livelihood projects, information dissemination, and other activities to support microfinance and poverty alleviation.
The PCFC's authorized capital stock may be increased from P100 million to P2 billion, with the subscribed capital stock increasing to P600 million. The paid-up capital shall increase progressively over four years, financed largely from the national government's share of PAGCOR earnings.
LGUs, through their local development councils, are responsible for formulating, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the National Anti-Poverty Action Agenda in their areas, identifying the poor, sourcing funding, coordinating poverty alleviation efforts, and submitting progress reports to the NAPC.
Microfinance services are integrated into the Social Reform Agenda's flagship program by developing a policy environment supportive of savings generation among the poor, rationalizing government credit programs, utilizing government financial institutions for microfinance, and promoting indigenous microfinance practices.
These three bodies are abolished, and their powers, functions, assets, liabilities, and personnel are transferred to the NAPC, which serves as their successor-in-interest.