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This page features the full text of
Republic Act No. 8425.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 8425
AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING
THE SOCIAL REFORM AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAM, CREATING FOR THE
PURPOSE
THE NATIONAL ANTI-POVERTY COMMISSION, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND
FUNCTIONS,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Section 1. Title. —
This
Act shall be known as the "Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation
Act."
Sec. 2. Declaration
of policy. — It is the policy of the State to:
(1) Adopt an
area-based,
sectoral and focused intervention to poverty alleviation wherein every
poor Filipino family shall be empowered to meet its minimum basic needs
of health, food and nutrition, water and environmental sanitation,
income
security, shelter and decent housing, peace and order, education and
functional
literacy, participation in governance, and family care and
psycho-social
integrity;
(2) Actively pursue
asset
reform or redistribution of productive economic resources to the basic
sectors including the adoption of a system of public spending which is
targeted towards the poor;
(3) Institutionalize
and
enhance the Social Reform Agenda, hereinafter known as the SRA, which
embodies
the results of the series of consultations and summits on poverty
alleviation;
(4) Adopt and
operationalize
the following principles and strategies as constituting the national
framework
integrating various structural reforms and anti-poverty initiatives:
(a) Social
reform
shall
be a continuing process that addresses the basic inequities in
Philippine
society through a systematic package of social interventions;
(b) The SRA shall
be
enhanced
by government in equal partnership with the different basic sectors
through
appropriate and meaningful consultations and participation in
governance;
(c) Policy,
programs
and
resource commitments from both government and the basic sectors shall
be
clearly defined to ensure accountability and transparency in the
implementation
of the Social Reform Agenda;
(d) A policy
environment
conducive to sustainable social reform shall be pursued;
(e) The SRA shall
address
the fight against poverty through a multi-dimensional and
cross-sectoral
approach which recognizes and respects the core values, cultural
integrity,
and spiritual diversity of target sectors and communities;
(f) The SRA shall
pursue
a gender-responsive approach to fight poverty;
(g) The SRA shall
promote
ecological balance in the different ecosystems, in a way that gives the
basic sectors a major stake in the use, management, conservation and
protection
of productive resources;
(h) The SRA shall
take
into
account the principle and interrelationship of population and
development
in the planning and implementation of social reform programs thereby
promoting
self-help and self-reliance; and
(i) The SRA
implementation
shall be focused on specific target areas and basic sectors.
Sec. 3. Definition of
terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(a) "Artisanal
fisherfolk"
— Refers to municipal, small scale or subsistence fishermen who use
fishing
gear which do not require boats or which only require boats below three
(3) tons;
(b) "Basic
sectors" —
Refer to the disadvantaged sectors of Philippine society, namely:
farmer-peasant,
artisanal fisherfolk, workers in the formal sector and migrant workers,
workers in the informal sector, indigenous peoples and cultural
communities,
women, differently-abled persons, senior citizens, victims of
calamities
and disasters, youth and students, children, and urban poor;
(c) "Cooperative"
—
Refers to a duly registered association of at least fifteen (15)
persons,
majority of which are poor, having a common bond of interest, who
voluntarily
join together to achieve a lawful common social and economic end. It is
organized by the members who equitably contribute the required share
capital
and accept a fair share of the risks and benefits of their undertaking
in accordance with the universally accepted corporate principles and
practices;
(d) "Capability
building" — Refers to the process of enhancing the viability and
sustainability
of microfinance institutions through activities that include training
in
microfinance technologies, upgrading of accounting and auditing
systems,
technical assistance for the installation or improvement of management
information systems, monitoring of loans and other related activities.
The term capability building shall in no way refer to the provision of
equity investments, seed funding, partnership's seed funds, equity
participation,
start-up funds or any such activity that connotes the infusion of
capital
or funds from the government or from the people's development trust
fund
to microfinance institution as defined in this Act. Capability building
precludes the grant of any loan or equity funds to the microfinance
institution;
(e) "Collateral-free
arrangement" — A financial arrangement wherein a loan is contracted
by the debtor without the conventional loan security of a real estate
or
chattel mortgage in favor of the creditor. In lieu of these
conventional
securities, alternative arrangements to secure the loans and ensure
repayment
are offered and accepted;
(f) "Group
character
loan" — A loan contracted by a member and guaranteed by a group of
persons for its repayment. The creditor can collect from any of the
members
of the group which guaranteed the said loan, without prejudice to the
right
of reimbursement of the member or members of the group who had advanced
the payment in favor of the actual debtor;
(g) "Indigenous
cultural
communities/ indigenous peoples" — As defined in Republic Act No.
8371,
otherwise known as "The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997";
(h) "Migrant
workers"
— As defined in Republic Act No. 8042, otherwise known as the "Migrant
Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995";
(i) "Micro-enterprise"
— Any economic enterprise with a capital of One hundred fifty
thousand
pesos (P150,000.00) and below. This amount is subject to periodic
determination
of the Department of Trade and Industry to reflect economic changes;
(j) "Microfinance"
— A credit and savings mobilization program exclusively for the poor to
improve the asset base of households and expand the access to savings
of
the poor. It involves the use of viable alternative credit schemes and
savings programs including the extension of small loans, simplified
loan
application procedures, group character loans, collateral-free
arrangements,
alternative loan repayments, minimum requirements for savings, and
small
denominated savers' instruments;
(k) "Minimum
basic
needs" — Refers to the needs of a Filipino family pertaining to
survival
(food
and nutrition; health; water and sanitation; clothing), security
(shelter;
peace and order; public safety; income and livelihood) and enabling
(basic
education and literacy; participation in community development; family
and psycho-social care);
(l) "Human
development
index" — Refers to the measure of how well a country has
performed,
based on social indicators of people's ability to lead a long and
healthy
life, to acquire knowledge and skills, and to have access to the
resources
needed to afford a decent standard of living. This index looks at a
minimum
of three outcomes of development: the state of health (measured by life
expectancy at birth), the level of knowledge and skill (measured by a
weighted
average of adult literacy and enrollment rates), and the level of real
income per capita, adjusted for poverty considerations;
(m) "Non-government
organizations"
— Refers to duly registered non-stock, non-profit organizations
focusing
on the upliftment of the basic or disadvantaged sectors of society by
providing
advocacy, training, community organizing, research, access to
resources,
and other similar activities;
(n) "People's
organization"
— Refers to a self-help group belonging to the basic sectors and/or
disadvantaged
groups composed of members having a common bond of interest who
voluntarily
join together to achieve a lawful common social or economic end;
(o) "Poor" —
Refers
to individuals and families whose income fall below the poverty
threshold
as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority and/or
cannot
afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of
food,
health, education, housing and other essential amenities of life;
(p) "Poverty
alleviation"
— Refers to the reduction of absolute poverty and relative poverty;
(q) "Absolute
poverty" — Refers to the condition of the household below the food
threshold
level;
(r) "Relative
poverty" — Refers to the gap between the rich and the poor;
(s) "Social
reform"
— Refers to the continuing process of addressing the basic inequities
in
Filipino society through a systematic, unified and coordinated delivery
of socioeconomic programs or packages;
(t) "Small Savers
Instrument
(SSI)" — Refers to an evidence of indebtedness of the Government of
the Republic of the Philippines which shall be in small denominations
and
sold at a discount from its redemption value, payable to bearer and
redeemable
on demand according to a schedule printed on the instrument, with a
discount
lower than the full stated rate if not held to maturity. The resources
generated under this scheme shall be used primarily for micro-credit
for
the poor. SSIs are not eligible as legal reserve of banks and legal
reserves
prescribed of insurance companies operating in the Philippines;
(u) "Urban poor"
— Refers to individuals or families residing in urban centers and
urbanizing
areas whose income or combined household income falls below the poverty
threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority
and/or cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum
basic
needs of food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities
of life;
(v) "Workers in
the
formal
sector" — Refers to workers in registered business enterprises who
sell their services in exchange for wages and other forms of
compensation;
(w) "Workers in
the
informal
sector" — Refers to poor individuals who operate businesses that
are
very small in scale and are not registered with any national government
agency, and to the workers in such enterprises who sell their services
in exchange for subsistence level wages or other forms of compensation;
and
(x) "Youth" —
Refers
to persons fifteen (15) to thirty (30) years old.
Sec. 4. Adoption and
integration
of Social Reform Agenda (SRA) in the National Anti-Poverty Action
Agenda.
— The National Anti-Poverty Action Agenda shall principally include
the core principles and programs of the Social Reform Agenda (SRA). The
SRA shall have a multi-dimensional approach to poverty consisting of
the
following reforms:
(1) Social
dimension
access to quality basic services. — These are reforms which refer
to
equitable control and access to social services and facilities such as
education, health, housing, and other basic services which enable the
citizens
to meet their basic human needs and to live decent lives;
(2) Economic
dimension
asset reform and access to economic opportunities. — Reforms which
address the existing inequities in the ownership, distribution,
management
and control over natural and man-made resources from which they earn a
living or increase the fruits of their labor;
(3) Ecological
dimension
sustainable development of productive resources. — Reforms which
ensure
the effective and sustainable utilization of the natural and ecological
resource base, thus assuring greater social acceptability and increased
participation of the basic sectors in environmental and natural
resources
conservation, management and development;
(4) Governance
dimension
democratizing the decision-making and management processes. —
Reforms
which enable the basic sectors to effectively participate in
decision-making
and management processes that affect their rights, interests and
welfare.
The SRA shall focus on the
following
sector-specific flagship programs:
(1) For
farmers and
landless
rural workers — agricultural development;
(2) For the
fisherfolk
— fisheries and aquatic resources conservation, management and
development;
(3) For the
indigenous
peoples
and indigenous communities — respect, protection and management of the
ancestral domains;
(4) For workers
in
the
informal sector — workers' welfare and protection;
(5) For the urban
poor
— socialized housing; and
(6) For members
of
other
disadvantaged groups such as the women, children, youth, persons with
disabilities,
the elderly, and victims of natural and man-made calamities — the
Comprehensive
Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS).
Additionally, to support the
sectoral flagship programs, the following cross-sectoral flagships
shall
likewise be instituted:
(1)
Institution-building
and effective participation in governance;
(2) Livelihood
programs;
(3) Expansion of
micro-credit/microfinance
services and capability building; and
(4) Infrastructure
buildup
and development.
TITLE I
NATIONAL
ANTI-POVERTY
COMMISSION
Sec. 5. The
National
Anti-Poverty Commission. — To support the above-stated policy, the
National Anti-Poverty Commission, hereinafter referred to as the NAPC,
is hereby created under the Office of the President, which shall serve
as the coordinating and advisory body for the implementation of the
SRA.
The Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty (PCFP), the Social Reform
Council (SRC), and the Presidential Council for Countryside Development
(PCCD) are hereby abolished and the NAPC shall exercise the powers and
functions of these agencies. The NAPC shall be the
successor-in-interest
of the three (3) abolished commissions and councils.
The creation and
operationalization
of the NAPC shall be guided by the following principles:
(1)
Incorporation of the
Social Reform Agenda into the formulation of development plans at the
national,
regional, sub-regional and local levels;
(2) Efficiency in the
implementation
of the anti-poverty programs by strengthening and/or streamlining
present
poverty alleviation processes and mechanisms, and reducing the
duplication
of functions and activities among various government agencies;
(3) Coordination and
synchronization
of social reform and poverty alleviation programs of national
government
agencies;
(4) Exercise of
policy
oversight
responsibilities to ensure the attainment of social reform and poverty
alleviation goals;
(5) Strengthening of
local
government units to more effectively operationalize the SRA in local
development
efforts;
(6)
Institutionalization
of basic sectoral and NGO participation in effective planning,
decision-making,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the SRA at all levels;
(7) Ensuring
adequate,
efficient
and prompt delivery of basic services to the poor; and
(8) Enjoining
government
financial institutions to open credit and savings windows for the poor,
and advocating the creation of such windows for the poor among private
banking institutions.
Sec. 6. Composition of
the NAPC. — The President of the Republic of the Philippines shall
serve as Chairperson of the NAPC. The President shall appoint the Lead
Convenor of the NAPC, either from the government or private sector, who
shall likewise serve as the head of the National Anti-Poverty
Commission
Secretariat, and shall have the rank of a Cabinet Secretary. There
shall
be a vice-chairperson for the government sector and a vice-chairperson
for the basic sectors; the former to be designated by the President,
and
the latter to be elected among the basic sector representatives of the
NAPC as vice-chairperson for the basic sector; and the following as
members:
(1) Heads of
the
following
government bodies:
(a) Department of
Agrarian
Reform (DAR);
(b) Department of
Agriculture
(DA);
(c) Department of
Labor
and Employment (DOLE);
(d) Department of
Budget
and Management (DBM);
(e) Department of
Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD);
(f) Department of
Health
(DOH);
(g) Department of
Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS);
(h) Department of
the
Interior
and Local Government (DILG);
(i) Department of
Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR);
(j) Department of
Finance
(DOF);
(k) National
Economic
and
Development Authority (NEDA);
(l) People's Credit
and
Finance Corporation (PCFC), subject to Sec. 17 of this Act; and
(m) Presidential
Commission
on Urban Poor (PCUP).
(2)
Presidents of the
Leagues
of Local Government Units:
(a) League of
Provinces;
(b) League of
Cities;
(c) League of
Municipalities;
(d) Liga ng mga
Barangay.
(3)
Representatives from
each
of the following basic sectors:
(a) Farmers and
landless
rural workers;
(b) Artisanal
fisherfolk;
(c) Urban poor;
(d) Indigenous
cultural
communities/indigenous peoples;
(e) Workers in the
formal
sector and migrant workers;
(f) Workers in the
informal
sector;
(g) Women;
(h) Youth and
students;
(i) Persons with
disabilities;
(j) Victims of
disasters
and calamities;
(k) Senior citizens;
(l) Nongovernment
organizations
(NGOs);
(m) Children; and
(n) Cooperatives.
Sectoral councils formed by
and among the members of each sector shall respectively nominate three
(3) nominees from each sector within six (6) months after the
effectivity
of the implementing rules and regulations of this Act, and every three
(3) years thereafter and in case of vacancy. The President of the
Republic
of the Philippines shall, within (30) days after the submission of the
list of nominees, appoint the representatives from the submitted list.
Sectoral representatives shall serve for a term of three (3) years
without
reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy for basic sector
representatives
shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor.
The implementing rules
and
regulations (IRR) of this Act shall contain the guidelines for the
formation
of sectoral councils, the nomination process, recall procedures and
such
other mechanisms to ensure accountability of the sectoral
representatives.
Sec. 7. Powers and
functions. — The NAPC shall exercise the following powers and
functions:
(1)
Coordinate with
different
national and local government agencies and the private sector to assure
full implementation of all social reform and poverty alleviation
programs;
(2) Coordinate with
local
government units in the formulation of social reform and poverty
alleviation
programs for their respective areas in conformity with the National
Anti-Poverty
Action Agenda;
(3) Recommend policy
and
other measures to ensure the responsive implementation of the
commitments
under the SRA;
(4) Ensure meaningful
representation
and active participation of the basic sectors;
(5) Oversee, monitor
and
recommend measures to ensure the effective formulation, implementation
and evaluation of policies, programs and resource allocation and
management
of social reform and poverty alleviation programs;
(6) Advocate for the
mobilization
of funds by the national and local governments to finance social reform
and poverty alleviation programs and capability building activities of
people's organizations;
(7) Provide financial
and
non-financial incentives to local government units with counterpart
resources
for the implementation of social reform and poverty alleviation
programs;
and
(8) Submit an annual
report
to Congress including, but not limited to, all aspects of its
operations
and programs and project implementation, financial status and other
relevant
data as reflected by the basic reform indicator.
Sec. 8. Principal office.
— The NAPC shall establish its principal office in Metro Manila and
may establish such branches within the Philippines as may be deemed
necessary
by the President of the Philippines to carry out the powers and
functions
of the NAPC.
Sec. 9. The NAPC
secretariat.
— The NAPC shall be supported by a Secretariat, which shall be headed
by
the Lead Convenor referred to under Sec. 6 hereof. The Secretariat
shall
provide technical and administrative support to the NAPC. It shall be
formed
from the unification of the secretariats of the following bodies:
(1)
Presidential
Commission
to Fight Poverty (PCFP);
(2) Social Reform
Council
(SRC); and
(3) Presidential
Council
for Countryside Development (PCCD).
Within three (3) months from
the effectivity of this Act, the Office of the President shall finalize
the organizational plan for the NAPC.
To provide the
continuity
of existing social reform and poverty alleviation related programs, all
accredited organizations under the three (3) unified councils and
commissions
shall be automatically accredited under the NAPC until such time that
additional
accreditation requirements may be provided by the NAPC.
Sec. 10. The
People's
Development Trust Fund. — The People's Development Trust Fund
(PDTF)
is hereby established, which shall be monitored by the NAPC.
The Trust Fund in the
amount
of Four billion and five hundred million pesos (P4,500,000,000.00)
shall
be funded from the earnings of the PAGCOR in addition to appropriations
by Congress, voluntary contributions, grants, gifts from both local and
foreign sources as may be accepted or decided on by the NAPC. Any
additional
amount to the Trust Fund shall form part of the corpus of the Trust
Fund,
unless the donor, contributor or grantor expressly provides as a
condition
that the amount be included in the disbursible portion of the Trust
Fund.
The President of the
Philippines
shall assign to any existing government department or agency the
administration
of the Trust Fund, based on the expertise, organizational capability,
and
orientation or focus of the department or agency. The NAPC shall be
limited
to the function of monitoring the utilization of the PDTF, while the
government
departments or agencies designated by the President shall directly
administer
the utilization of the earnings of the PDTF.
Only the fruits of the
PDTF
shall be used for the purposes provided in this Act. Any undisbursed
fruits
for the preceding year shall form part of the disbursible portion of
the
PDTF in the following year.
For the purpose of
monitoring
the earnings of the PDTF, the NAPC shall:
(1) Source
funds for the
establishment of and augmentation to the Trust Fund;
(2) Recommend to the
appropriate
government department or agency the accreditation of organizations and
institutions that shall act as resource partners in conducting
institutional
development and capability building activities for accredited
organizations
and beneficiaries of microfinance and micro-enterprise programs;
(3) Ensure that
validation
and monitoring activities are conducted for funded institutional
development
and capability building projects/programs/beneficiaries; and
(4) Promote research
and
development work on livelihood and microfinance technology and
publications/communications
programs that assist the poor beneficiaries.
Sec. 11. Purposes of the
People's Development Trust Fund (PDTF). — The earnings of the PDTF
shall be utilized for the following purposes:
(1)
Consultancy and
training
services for microfinance institutions and their beneficiaries on the
establishment
of the necessary support services, social and financial preparation of
beneficiaries, preparation of plans and programs including fund
sourcing
and assistance, establishment of credit and savings monitoring and
evaluation
mechanisms;
(2) Scholarships or
training
grants for microfinance staff and officers, and selected beneficiaries;
(3) Community
organizing
for microfinance, livelihood and micro-enterprises training services;
(4)
Livelihood/micro-enterprise
project/program feasibility studies and researches;
(5) Savings
mobilization
and incentive programs, and other similar facilities;
(6) Information and
communication
systems such as baseline surveys, development monitoring systems,
socioeconomic
mapping surveys, organizational assessments, and other similar
activities;
(7) Legal and other
management
support services such as registration, documentation, contract review
and
enforcement, financial audit and operational assessment;
(8) Information
dissemination
of microfinance technology; and
(9) Other activities
to
support microfinance as approved by the designated agency administering
the PDTF.
The PDTF may be accessed by
the following:
(a)
Registered
microfinance
organizations engaged in providing micro-enterprise services for the
poor
to enable them to become viable and sustainable;
(b) Local government
units
providing microfinance and micro-enterprise programs to their
constituents: Provided, That the PDTF shall not be used by the
LGUs for
personal
services and maintenance and other operating expenses; and
(c) Local government
units
undertaking self-help projects where at least twenty-five percent (25%)
of the total earnings of the PDTF shall be used exclusively for the
provision
of materials and technical services.
Sec. 12. The role of Local
Government Units (LGUs). — The local government units, through the
local development councils of the province, city, municipality, or
barangay
shall be responsible for the formulation, implementation, monitoring
and
evaluation of the National Anti-Poverty Action Agenda in their
respective
jurisdictions. The LGUs shall:
(a) Identify
the poor in
their respective areas based on indicators such as the minimum basic
needs
approach and the human development index, their location, occupation,
nature
of employment, and their primary resource base and formulate a
provincial/city/municipality
anti-poverty action agenda;
(b) Identify and
source
funding for specific social reform and poverty alleviation projects;
(c) Coordinate,
monitor
and evaluate the efforts of local government units with the private
sector
on planning and implementation of the local action program for social
reform
and poverty alleviation; and
(d) Coordinate and
submit
progress reports to the National Anti-Poverty Commission regarding
their
local action programs.
Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as diminishing the powers granted to the local government
units
under the Local Government Code.
TITLE II
MICROFINANCE
SERVICES
FOR THE POOR
Sec. 13. Microfinance
program. — The programs and implementing mechanisms of the Social
Reform
Agenda's Flagship Program on Credit shall be integrated, adopted and
further
enhanced to effectively support the objectives of this Act along the
following
thrusts:
(1)
Development of a
policy
environment, especially in the area of savings generation, supportive
of
basic sector initiatives dedicated to serving the needs of the poor in
terms of microfinance services;
(2) Rationalization
of
existing
government programs for credit and guarantee;
(3) Utilization of
existing
government financial entities for the provision of microfinance
products
and services for the poor; and
(4) Promotion of
mechanisms
necessary for the implementation of microfinance services, including
indigenous
microfinance practices.
Sec. 14. People's Credit
and Finance Corporation (PCFC). — The People's Credit and Finance
Corporation
(PCFC), a government- controlled corporation registered with the
Securities
and Exchange Commission and created in accordance with Administrative
Order
No. 148 and Memorandum Order No. 261, shall be the vehicle for the
delivery
of microfinance services for the exclusive use of the poor. As a
government-owned
and -controlled corporation, it shall be the lead government entity
specifically
tasked to mobilize financial resources from both local and
international
funding sources for microfinance services for the exclusive use of the
poor.
Sec. 15. Increase
in the Capitalization of PCFC. — To facilitate the increase in the
capitalization of the PCFC, the President of the Republic of the
Philippines
shall take measures to enable the amendment of the Articles of
Incorporation
of the PCFC such that:
(a) The
authorized
capital
stock of the PCFC may be increased from One hundred million pesos
(P100,000,000.00)
to Two billion pesos (P2,000,000,000.00) divided into twenty million
common
shares with a par value of One hundred pesos (P100.00) per share;
(b) The subscribed
capital
stock may be increased from One hundred million pesos (P100,000,000.00)
to Six hundred million pesos (P600,000,000.00) and the national
government
may subscribe the difference of Five hundred million pesos
(P500,000,000.00);
(c) The initial
paid-up
capital may be increased from One hundred million pesos
(P100,000,000.00)
to Two hundred fifty million pesos (P250,000,000.00), to be increased
subsequently
to a total of Six hundred million pesos (P600,000,000.00), such that at
the end of a period of four (4) years the subscribed capital shall be
fully
paid-up, in the following manner:
For the
initial
increase
in paid-up capital during the first year, the difference of One hundred
fifty million pesos (P150,000,000.00) shall be paid and appropriated
for
by government; for the second year, One hundred fifty million pesos
(P150,000,000.00);
for the third year, One hundred million pesos (P100,000,000.00); and
for
the fourth year, One hundred million pesos (P100,000,000.00).
The appropriations
for
the
additional paid-up capital shall be sourced from the share of the
national
government in the earnings of the PAGCOR, in the manner provided for
under Sec. 18, which provides for the appropriations under this Act.
Sec. 16. Special credit
windows in existing Government Financing Institutions (GFIs). — The
existing government financial institutions shall provide for the
savings
and credit needs of the poor. The GFIs such as the Land Bank of the
Philippines,
Philippine Postal Bank, Al Amanah Bank, and the Development Bank of the
Philippines are hereby mandated to coordinate with NAPC and PCFC in
setting
up special credit windows and other arrangements, such as the servicing
of Small Savers Instruments (SSIs), that will promote the microfinance
program of this Act.
The private financing
institutions
may also provide the savings and credit requirements of the poor by
setting
up similar credit windows and other arrangements to promote the savings
component of the microfinance program of this Act.
Special credit windows
for
the poor shall, as far as practicable, include an allocation for the
basic
sectors, as defined in this Act, particularly those living in the rural
areas, agrarian reform communities, and women in the countryside.
Sec. 17. PCFC
privatization.
— In the event that the ownership of the majority of the issued
voting
stocks of PCFC shall have passed to private investors (exclusively
qualified
nongovernment organizations, people's organizations and cooperatives),
the stockholders shall cause the registration with the Securities and
Exchange
Commission (SEC) of the revised Articles of Incorporation and By-laws.
The PCFC shall thereafter be considered as a privately organized entity
subject to the laws and regulations generally applied to private
corporations.
The chairman of the
PCFC
may still be a member of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)
upon
the privatization of the PCFC: Provided, That the PCFC will continue
its
main purpose of providing for the savings and credit needs of the poor.
TITLE III
APPROPRIATIONS
FOR
THE
NATIONAL
ANTI-POVERTY
COMMISSION (NAPC)
AND THE
PEOPLE'S
DEVELOPMENT
TRUST FUND (PDTF)
Sec. 18. Appropriations.
— To carry out the provisions of this Act, the following amounts are
appropriated
as follows:
(1) The sum
of One
hundred
million pesos (P100,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated as the initial
operating
fund in addition to the unutilized funds of the rationalized commission
and councils. The sum shall be sourced from the President's Contingent
Fund. In subsequent years, the amount necessary to implement this Act
shall
be included in the annual appropriations. The said amounts shall be
under
the management of the NAPC.
(2) The aggregate sum
of
Four billion and five hundred million pesos (P4,500,000,000.00) for ten
(10) years is hereby appropriated for the establishment of the People's
Development Trust Fund (PDTF) from the share of the national government
in the earnings of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation
(PAGCOR),
in the following manner: on the first year, Three hundred fifty million
pesos (P350,000,000.00); on the second year, Three hundred fifty
million
pesos (P350,000,000.00); on the third year, Four hundred million pesos
(P400,000,000.00); on the fourth year, Four hundred million pesos
(P400,000,000.00);
on the fifth year and every year thereafter until the tenth year, Five
hundred million pesos (P500,000,000.00) annually.
(3) The aggregate sum
of
Five hundred million pesos (P500,000,000) for four years shall be
appropriated
for the increase in the capitalization of the PCFC, from the share of
the
national government in the earnings of the PAGCOR, at such time that
the
increase in the capitalization of the PCFC, in the manner provided for
under Sec. 15 of this Act, shall have been effected. The
appropriation
shall be made in the following manner: on the first year, One hundred
fifty
million pesos (P150,000,000.00); on the second year, One hundred fifty
million pesos (P150,000,000.00); on the third year, One hundred million
pesos (P100,000,000.00); and on the fourth year, One hundred million
pesos
(P100,000,000.00).
Sec. 19. Transitory
provision.
— The Social Reform Council (SRC) and the representatives therein
shall,
in temporary capacity, exercise the powers and assume the duties of the
NAPC until such time that the members of NAPC shall have been duly
appointed
or designated.
The Office of the
President
shall formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this
Act
within six (6) months after its effectivity.
The assets, liabilities
and personnel of PCFP, SRC and PCCD are hereby transferred to the NAPC.
Personnel who cannot be absorbed by NAPC shall be entitled to a
separation
pay of one-and-a-half (1 1/2) months for every year of service and
other
benefits under existing retirement laws, at the option of the personnel
concerned.
Sec. 20. Repealing
clause. — All laws, executive orders, rules and regulations, or
parts
thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or
modified
accordingly. The provisions of this Act shall not be repealed, amended
or modified unless expressly provided in subsequent general or special
laws.
Sec. 21. Separability
clause. — If any provision of this Act shall be held invalid or
unconstitutional,
the remaining provisions thereof not affected thereby shall remain in
full
force and effect.
Sec. 22. Effectivity
clause. — This Act shall be effective on June 30, 1998.
Approved:
December 11, 1997
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