By Claro A. Lanipa
PAGADIAN CITY – National
Government Agencies (NGAs) involved in the implementation of the Accelerated
and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAP) led by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources
convened here recently to discuss the implementation of the said
program.
DENR-9 Regional Director Arleigh J.
Adorable, ASAP lead convenor in the region, said the said program is the product
of the survey conducted by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet
Cluster and NEDA Board-Social Development Committee to address the poverty
problem in the country to achieve inclusive growth among the populace.
Ten provinces across the country were
identified as pilot areas with high number of poor families, but not
necessarily the poorest provinces for the implementation of this program,
namely, Pangasinan, Quezon, Camarines Sur, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Cebu,
Leyte, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao del Sur and Sulu.
In Zamboanga del Sur, the municipalities of
Mahayag, Aurora and Kumalarang were identified as potential areas to be
developed and be converted to economic hub that can be radiated to other
provinces or municipalities.
On the other hand, NEDA-9 Assistant
Regional Director Phlorita Ridao in her presentation disclosed that the
over-all goal of ASAP is to sustainably address the unfinished business of
reducing poverty in the last 500 days of the Aquino administration, which is to
hit our Philippine Development Plan (PDP) target of reducing the poverty incidence
of the country to 18-20 percent.
Present during the meeting was the chairman
of ASAP and focal point person of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction
Cabinet Cluster and NEDA Board Social
Development Committee Undersecretary Patrocinio Jude Esquerra III together with
the vice chairman, NEDA Assistant Secretary Michelle Angelica Go, who presided over
the meeting.
The regional directors and representatives
of DENR, NEDA, DOLE, TESDA, DOH, DepEd, DSWD, DA,DILG, DAR, PCA, BFAR, NYC,
CHED and PIA came to participate in the said meeting.