MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 33
MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 33 -
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE KAPIT-BISIG LABAN SA KAHIRAPAN (KALAHI) AS THE
GOVERNMENT'S PROGRAM FOR POVERTY REDUCTION
WHEREAS, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
declared an all out war against poverty in her inaugural speech;
WHEREAS, winning the war against poverty entails an energized
bureaucracy, and an empowered and highly participative civil society
and business sector working together adhering to continuous
consensus-building processes;
WHEREAS, the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 2001–2004
espouses poverty reduction as its overarching theme spelled out in the
following major sections: (a) Macroeconomic Stability and Equitable
Growth; (b) Agricultural Modernization with Social Equity; (c)
Comprehensive Human Development and Protecting the Vulnerable; and (d)
Good and Effective Governance;
WHEREAS, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan or KALAHI, has been adopted
as the embodiment of the government's poverty reduction initiatives;
Now, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the
Philippines and Chairperson of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, by
virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the
institutionalization of the KALAHI in government systems and processes.
Section 1. Policy Statement. — The Kapit-Bisig Laban
sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) shall be the administration's overarching program
for a focused, accelerated, convergent, and expanded, and strategic
effort to reduce poverty. All government poverty reduction programs and
projects shall anchor on KALAHI. The government, through KALAHI, shall
solicit active participation of basic sector organizations, other civil
society organizations and business sector in its poverty reduction
programs or activities.
Sec. 2. Goals. — The poverty reduction program of
the government shall pursue the following goals: (a) reduced poverty,
(b) improved governance, and (c) empowered communities.
Sec. 3. Strategies. — The KALAHI shall be
operationalized based on the following poverty reduction strategies:
(a) accelerated asset reform, (b) improved access to human development
services, (c) provision of employment and livelihood opportunities, (d)
security from violence and social protection including safety nets for
vulnerable sectors, and (e) institutionalized and strengthened
participation of the basic sectors in governance. Environmental
protection shall be a cross-cutting concern in all these strategies.
Sec. 4. Convergence Policy. — It is the policy of
the government to enjoin the active involvement of all sectors of
society in the operationalization of KALAHI. Multi-stakeholder and
inter-agency convergence shall be observed and institutionalized in all
poverty reduction activities. All government agencies shall therefore
institutionalize KALAHI in their respective systems and processes and
participate actively in the implementation of KALAHI in the national
and sub-national levels.
Sec. 5. Convergence Mechanism. — The National
Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), by virtue of the Republic Act 8425
(Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act of 1997), shall serve as the
coordinating and oversight body in the operationalization of the
government's poverty reduction initiatives. It shall provide enabling
policies to ensure efficient and successful implementation of the
KALAHI.
To facilitate proper targeting of KALAHI sites, and planning,
coordination and monitoring of poverty reduction programs, projects and
resources, adhering to the principle of open and inclusive membership,
NAPC shall facilitate the establishment of the following groups:
a)
The National KALAHI Convergence Group (NKCG), composed of heads and/or
focal persons of the following initial list of national government
agencies: Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of
Health, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education,
Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Justice; Department of
Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense,
Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Budget and
Management, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and
Employment, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Energy,
National Economic and Development Authority, Technology and Livelihood
Resource Center, People's Credit and Finance Corporation, Presidential
Commission for the Urban Poor, National Housing Authority, National
Youth Commission, National Food Authority, National Irrigation
Administration, National Statistical Coordination Board, National
Statistics Office, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine
Information Agency, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine
National Police, Population Commission, Cooperative Development
Authority, Quedan Credit Corporation, Office of the Presidential
Adviser on the Peace Process, and other national government agencies
that may be identified hereafter, national chapters of League of
Provinces, League of Cities, League of Municipalities, and Liga ng mga
Barangay, and the NAPC Basic Sector Representatives.
The NAPC Lead Convenor shall
serve as Chair of the NKCG with the NAPC Secretariat as its
Secretariat.
For purposes of a more focused
and coordinated planning and programming, the convergence group shall
be divided into four (4) clusters, namely: asset reform, human
development services and social protection, livelihood and employment,
and institutionalizing and capacity-building. Membership in the
clusters shall be based on the relevance of organizational mandates;
thus, any government agency or body, or civil society representative,
may become a member of any cluster and may opt to join more than one
cluster.
b) The
Regional KALAHI Convergence Groups (RKCG), composed of heads and/or
focal persons of the regional counterparts of the NKCG agencies, the
Cabinet Officer for Regional Development (CORD) and/or his/her
representative, the Presidential Assistant for Regional Development
(PARD) or the Regional Development Officer (RDO) and/or his/her
representative, NAPC Sectoral Council members in the region, regional
chapters of local government leagues, Local Poverty Reduction Program
Action Officer (LPRAO) of each province and highly urbanized city in
the region, and other government agencies, organizations or sectors
that the RKCG may invite as members.
i)
A RKCG shall be set up within the existing structure of the Regional
Development Council (RDC) for all regions except the National Capital
Region (NCR) and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
ii) The Chair
of the RKCG shall be the Presidential Assistant for Regional
Development (PARD) or the Regional Development Officer (RDO), as the
case may be, while the Vice-Chair, who shall perform the functions of
the Chair in the former's absence, shall be elected from among its
members.
iii) The NEDA
Regional Office (NRO) shall serve as the secretariat of the RKCG. The
RKCG may call upon concerned government agencies, organizations,
sectors, or entities such as the Local Poverty Reduction Program
Officers (LPRAOs), whenever necessary.
iv) The CORD
shall facilitate resolution of RKCG matters that need Cabinet action.
v) The
government of the ARMM shall constitute its own convergence group and
secretariat. It may however call on the assistance of the NAPC on this
matter. The ARMM Governor shall be the ARMM KALAHI Convergence Chair.
vi) The NAPC
shall facilitate the establishment of a RKCG in the NCR whose chair
shall be the NAPC Lead Convenor. The NAPC Secretariat shall serve as
the NCR-RKCG's Secretariat.
vii) The RKCG
shall recognize and work with KALAHI focal persons or teams that LGUs
may establish at their respective levels.
viii) The RKCG
shall collaborate closely with the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to maintain the strong
link between anti-poverty and internal security efforts of the
government.
Sec. 6. Institutionalization and
Capacity-Building. — The NAPC shall coordinate the planning, monitoring
and evaluation, and assessment and integration of tools and mechanisms
that will be used under the KALAHI program. It shall exercise oversight
functions over any government agency's capacity-building programs or
projects for poverty reduction.
Sec. 7. Funding Resources. — To effectively
implement KALAHI in all targeted areas and communities, funding shall
be sourced from: (a) allocation from program funds of national
government agencies; (b) allocation from funds of local government
units, including but not limited to, the 20% development fund, gender
and development fund, etc.; (c) special funds from government financial
institutions and government owned and controlled corporations such as
the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Philippine
Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and Land Bank of the Philippines
(LBP); (d) President's Social Fund (PSF); (e) People's Development
Trust Fund (PDTF); (f) congressional allocation; (g) door institutions,
both foreign and local, and (h) other innovative funding sources.
All government agencies concerned shall ensure a KALAHI budget item in
their respective budget starting Fiscal year 2004. The Department of
Budget and Management (DBM), in coordination with the NAPC, shall issue
guidelines and orient all agencies concerned on the KALAHI budget.
Sec. 8. Implementing Guidelines. — The
implementing guidelines of this Memorandum Circular shall be prepared
by the NAPC Secretariat, within 60 days upon signing, and shall undergo
consultation process with the different stakeholders.
Sec. 9. Repealing Clause. — All orders, issuances,
rules and regulations, which are considered inconsistent with this
Memorandum Circular are hereby repealed and modified accordingly.
Sec. 10. Separability Clause. — Any provision
hereof that may be declared in violation of existing laws shall in no
way nullify the other provisions of this Memorandum Circular.
Sec. 11. Effectivity. — This Memorandum Circular
shall take effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 28th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and
Two.
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Since 19.07.98.