Palawan eyes reduction of poverty by 25%
The Palawan provincial government wants to reduce poverty prevalence in the province by 25 percent in four years, Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) coordinator Ninfa Rubio said.
“Compare to the general poverty [rate] natin, mababa na ang sa atin, very manageable na. Lahat naman ng paraan ginagawa natin para maabot ang mga kababayan natin, isa dito ang dalawang proyekto na inilunsad natin,” she said.
Rubio said the provincial government intends to do this through two programs it recently launched.
These two programs are the Community Driven Development and Poverty Reduction Program (CDDPRP), which aims to reduce poverty in Palawan, and the New Banua Institute for Resiliency and Green Growth (NBIRGG) in partnership with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) that intends to implement programs to address climate change.
These program will try to reduce the province’ current poverty incidence of 56 percent to a manageable 17 percent by 2022, she also said.
Rubio said the projects will provide livelihood initiatives that are suitable to the culture and traditions of Palaweños, especially the indigenous peoples (IP) communities.
Rubaya Muntaal, farmer and resident of Brooke’s Point town and a member of the Palaw’an tribe, said they rely on the provincial government to help them uplift their living standards through the two projects.
Muntaal, who currently earns around P3,000 to P4,000 monthly, said his salary is not enough to feed and support the education of his eight children.
“Minsan swerte talaga kung makakain kami ng kanin, palaging saging o kamote lang kasi hindi naman sapat ang kinikita ko sa isang buwan. Sana ‘yong programa ay matulungan kami lalo na ang mga katutubo,” he said.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, earlier committed to support the IPs in Palawan in partnership with line government agencies, and partners that include the European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Climate Change Commission (CCC).
Aside from financial support, Villar will also provide training and equipments.
Sen. Vilar will implement implement the assistance through their non-profit organization SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation & Governance).
“In pledging my commitment and support to the social development programs, I offer to continue the partnership with the IPs in bringing my livelihood projects and agricultural training programs to their communities. We have weaving also, from water hyacinth into handicrafts. So ‘yung may mga water hyacinth sa lugar nyo tuturuan namin sila to wave them into mats, to baskets, bags, and many others,” Villar said during her visit to Palawan as guest of honor in an anti-poverty summit for the IPs.
Rubio said they have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the different stakeholders to pursue their commitments.
“For all development funders that will be the process. We need to come up with a MOA or make a proposal for its implementation before the MOA. Hindi lang pera ‘yan dahil susuportahan din nila tayo in terms of training and equipment,” Rubio also said.