Press Release
December 22, 2009

Pia closes year with hearing on 'Magna Carta for the Poor'

As the Senate goes on Christmas break this week, Senator Pia S. Cayetano has found it appropriate to close the year by hearing a proposed measure that lays down the basic rights and takes up the plight of the country's poor.

Cayetano, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, will lead the initial public hearing on the "Magna Carta for the Poor" for the estimated 27.6 million poor Filipinos who make up 32.9 percent of the population.

"It is only appropriate that this vital measure gets the full attention of the Senate, especially in this season of hope and sharing," the lady senator stressed.

"Recognizing the rights of the poor should not be reduced to mere tokenism, but must form the core of government's poverty alleviation program. It is unfortunate that in most cases, the biggest violator of the rights of the poor is the government itself."

On the agenda are Senate Bill No.2525 authored by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and House Bill No.6519, principally authored by Deputy Speaker Raul Del Mar, which was passed by the House of Representatives last month.

The measures state five basic "irreducible rights" of the poor, which include: the right to employment; right to food and food assistance; right to free quality education; right to shelter; and right to free health services and medicines.

These are regarded as the "minimum standards of decency" which the poor can demand as a matter of right and which the government must deliver as a matter of obligation.

Among the highlights of said measures is the development of a food assistance program by the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) to help the poor meet their minimum food necessities. To this end, all food items and food products, including rice, corn, sugar and other prime commodities seized and forfeited with finality in favor of government for violations of customs laws shall be automatically transferred to the DSWD for disposal.

Preferential treatment will be given to the poor for employment and economic opportunities in government projects and programs. The measures likewise mandate concerned government agencies to observe the right of the poor to free elementary and secondary education, which shall include provisions for free school uniform and transportation expenses. The government is also encouraged to pursue the "study-now-pay-later" program, particularly for indigent college students. #

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