Duterte signs Magna Carta of the Poor

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte skims through some documents while presiding over the 32nd Cabinet Meeting at the Malacañan Palace on December 12, 2018. SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed into law the Magna Carta of the Poor which is meant to uplift the standard of living and quality of life of impoverished Filipinos.

Duterte signed Republic Act 11291 on April 12, 2019 but a copy of which was released to media on Monday (May 27).

Under the law, “the government shall establish a system of progressive realization or implementation to provide the requirements, conditions, and opportunities for the full enjoyment or realization of the following rights of the poor, which are essential requirements towards poverty alleviation.”

It also states that there will be a non-diminution of the rights of the poor or that “all other rights of the poor provided under existing laws shall remain in full force and effect.”

Within six months from the effectivity of this act, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) shall, in coordination with the government departments and agencies, with the participation of the local government units and the basic sectors, promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

This Act was passed by the Senate of the Philippines as Senate Bill 2121 on January 29, 2019 and adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill 5811 on January 30, 2019.

It shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

On April 17, Duterte also signed into law an act institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve the health, nutrition and education aspects of their lives.