Amended IRR of Magna Carta of the Poor out by end of June – NAPC

Beneficiaries of RA 11921 include individuals whose incomes fall below the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority.  (File photo: viewfinderview/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is set to receive a draft copy of the revised implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of Republic Act 11921 or the Magna Carta of the Poor by end of June, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) said on Friday.

During the Laging Handa program, NAPC lead convenor Lope Santos III said the national technical working group is now on the “final stage” in amending the IRR of RA 11921.

“Ang atin pong proposed amendment for the IRR of the Magna Carta [of] the Poor ay nabalangkas na ng ating national technical working group at ito ay nasa final stage na (Our proposed amendment for the IRR of the Magna Carta [of] the Poor has already been laid out by our national technical working group and it is now on its final stage),” Santos said.

“Ito ay inaasahan nating mai-presenta sa ating Pangulo ngayong buwan na ito (We expect to present it to the President this month), towards the end of this month so that it can be signed by the President and [can] be implemented na ng ating mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan (by our government agencies),” he added.

RA 11291, which was signed into law on April 12, 2019, guarantees the rights of the poor to adequate food, decent work, relevant and quality education, adequate housing and the highest attainable standard of health.

Under Magna Carta of the Poor, the government is mandated to establish a system of progressive realization or implementation to provide the requirements, conditions and opportunities for the full enjoyment or realization of the five fundamental rights of the poor which are essential requirements towards poverty alleviation.

The first IRR of RA 11921 was signed in 2021.

Santos said the proposed amendments to the existing IRR would align the National Poverty Reduction Plan with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 to ensure harmonization and convergence of focused anti-poverty programs.

“Ang laman po ng ating implementing rules at regulations ay kung paano ipapatupad ang Magna Carta [of] the Poor, kung paano ang formulation ng National Poverty Reduction Plan hanggang doon sa local poverty reduction plans na gagawin ng ating mga local government unit, at ganoon na din yung institutional mechanism kung paano ipapatupad itong mga programa (Our implementing rules and regulations contain provisions on how to implement Magna Carta of the Poor, formulate National Poverty Reduction Plans and local government units’ local poverty reduction plans, and carry out institutional mechanism for our programs),” he said.

Santos said the Marcos administration is eyeing to reduce the poverty rate to 9 percent by 2028.

Beneficiaries of RA 11921 include individuals whose incomes fall below the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority.