Urban poor council gears for Mindanao summit

THE Citywide Urban Poor Council of Zamboanga (CUPCZ) is making all the necessary preparations to participate in the upcoming four-day Mindanao Urban Poor Summit.

CUPCZ chairman Roy Barte said the summit is scheduled to be held from September 5-8 in Davao City.

The CUPCZ is the biggest urban poor group with 140 member-associations in Zamboanga City.

Barte said they have been conducting series of activities for the benefit of its members, primarily to discuss issues and concerns that will be brought up during the four-day Mindanao summit.

Barte, who will represent the CUPCZ in the Mindanao summit, said the event is also in preparation for the National Urban Poor Summit scheduled sometime in December this year, when the country will celebrate the Urban Poor Solidarity Week.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) showed that Zamboanga City is home to 62,262 urban poor families, of which 10,316 families have so far been reached by the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUC) through the different urban poor groups that included the CUPCZ.

The survey refers urban poor to individuals or families in urban areas with incomes below the poverty line as defined by the NSCB.

They are considered as integral part of society and are partners in urbanization and industrialization. (Bong Garcia)