Foundation pushes law to ensure poverty reduction

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

THE Foundation for a Sustainable Society Inc. (FSSI) is pushing for the filing of a House Bill ordaining the promotion and development of social enterprises in order to ensure poverty reduction.

FSSI Advocacy and Communication Specialist Heidi Fernandez, FSSI Project Officer for Visayas Glaiza Veluz, FSSI partner and Association of Negros Producers (ANP) president Josie Locsin of Tumandok Crafts and Eva dela Merced of the Broad Initiatives for Negros Development Inc. presented the bill in Bacolod last Monday.

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Fernandez said they want President Benigno Aquino III to make this as part of his program for poverty reduction.

“We want the government to play a major role in pushing for this agenda for change, because the government has the resources that they could provide to the industry in exchange for the social values that this industry is giving to the society,” she said.

FSSI is a social investing organization that supports social enterprises or entrepreneurship with the triple bottom line and local economy development framework.

Social entrepreneurship is a social mission-driven wealth-creating organization that serves the poor as primary stakeholders with at least double or triple bottom lines. Bottom lines refer to other missions that respond to social and ecological values that benefit society or communities.

“We have triple bottom line which is based on the United Nation’s definition for social enterprises. We don’t only focus on the profits but also on the people or the communities that they worked with and the environment. All activities of social entrepreneurs should protect the environment for future generations,” she said.

They are helping farmers, fisherfolks and poor sectors to be empowered through social entrepreneurship.

She said that only countries such as Italy, United Kingdom and South Korea legislated measures on social entrepreneurship.

The movement begun in the 70’s in the United States as a response to economic downturns and cutbacks in federal funding, while Europe has turned to social entrepreneurship as a major measure to the 80’s welfare states crisis.