[Philippines]Anti-poverty czar admits more needs to be done

from INQ7

SWS survey to guide anti-poverty programs

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez

MUCH remains to be done by government to uplift the lives of poor Filipinos despite the many programs to combat hunger and poverty.

This was the admission Wednesday of Domingo Panganiban, the newly-appointed lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), in the light of a new survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showing the number of Filipino households experiencing hunger had reached record highs and that 51 percent of Filipinos see themselves as poor.

Panganiban said they would use the survey results as a guide in implementing government’s anti-poverty programs.

Nevertheless, he said the survey could have missed areas where the government has programs aimed at giving livelihood and food to the poor.

He added that there are provinces and municipalities classified as poor and this is where the anti-poverty programs are concentrated.

One of these programs, the "Gulayan sa Kanayunan," helps household plant vegetables for their own consumption.