Law Summary
Key Definitions
- Basic Sectors: Disadvantaged groups including farmers, fisherfolk, workers, indigenous peoples, women, PWDs, senior citizens, disaster victims, youth, children, urban poor, and cooperatives.
- Development Partners: NGOs, POs, private organizations involved in poverty alleviation.
- Hazardous/Danger Zones: Areas unsafe for habitation or business.
- NGOs and POs: Defined with focus on advocacy and organized self-help groups.
- Poor: Those below poverty threshold by NEDA or identified by the Multidimensional Poverty Index.
- National Poverty Reduction Plan and Progressive Realization terms explained.
Fundamental Rights of the Poor
- The government must progressively realize the following rights:
- Right to Adequate Food: Access to sufficient, healthy food; mitigation of hunger during disasters; supplementary feeding programs; food self-sufficiency.
- Right to Decent Work: Access to employment information; 30% skilled labor quota in public projects for poor residents; livelihood promotion; compliance with labor standards; inclusive tripartism.
- Right to Relevant and Quality Education: Free basic education; accessible higher education with financial assistance; technical-vocational training scholarships.
- Right to Adequate Housing: Priority for socialized housing; urgent housing for disaster-affected and danger zone families; security of tenure; streamlined processing for socialized housing.
- Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health: Equitable access to quality health care; broad health services including reproductive health and immunization; socialized health insurance to reduce out-of-pocket expenses; community health education.
Preservation of Other Rights
- Existing legal rights of the poor remain intact.
- No diminution of rights; the poor may avail greater rights if provided by other laws.
Social Protection System
- Government shall implement a sustainable social protection system including social insurance, safety nets, social services, and labor market interventions.
- Social protection to be considered in international negotiations.
Beneficiary Targeting System
- NEDA oversees a single classification system for identifying beneficiaries.
- DSWD, NEDA, and NAPC coordinate to identify target beneficiaries.
National Poverty Reduction Plan and Coordination
- Government agencies must formulate comprehensive poverty reduction plans within 100 days from rule implementation.
- Plans harmonized by NAPC with technical assistance from NEDA.
- DBM reviews plans for budget inclusion.
Participation of Basic Sectors and LGUs
- Basic sectors and LGUs involved in NPRP formulation and implementation.
- DILG monitors LGUs' compliance with poverty reduction plans.
Funding and Budget Prioritization
- Funding sourced from General Appropriations Act (GAA) allocations of involved agencies.
- Agencies listed with their specific programs.
- Preferential budget consideration mandated.
- Additional funds for pro-poor programs included in GAA.
Private Sector Participation
- Private sector encouraged to partner in financing and program implementation.
- Government agencies authorized to accredit development partners.
- Transparent acceptance and use of donations subject to regulations.
Tax Exemptions for Donations
- Donations to NPRP programs exempt from donor’s tax under the National Internal Revenue Code as amended.
Implementation Principle: Progressive Realization
- Implementation is phased according to available funds.
- President and Congress have discretion over budget allocations.
- No requirement for immediate full implementation.
Monitoring and Reporting
- NAPC oversees and monitors compliance.
- Biannual reports from agencies submitted to NAPC, then to relevant Senate and House Committees.
Rulemaking
- NAPC to promulgate implementing rules and regulations within six months of the Act’s effectivity.
- Consultation with government agencies, LGUs, and basic sectors mandated.
Legal Provisions
- Separability Clause protects unaffected provisions if any law section is invalidated.
- Repealing Clause updates or repeals inconsistent laws.
- Effectivity 15 days after official publication.