THE National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) eyes to establish its office in Mindanao to become more visible in public's eye and properly monitor anti-poverty programs, considering also that most of the 10 provinces with high poverty incidence are in the city.
NAPC Undersecretary for Mindanao Roseller Barinaga said they have already sent a proposal to President Rodrigo Duterte on building its new office in Mindanao.
NAPC is currently based in Luzon since they have no office in Davao City.
Based on the 2015 first semester poverty incidence report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the 10 poorest provinces are Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Sarangani, Bukidnon, Siquijor, Northern Samar, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
Out of the 10 poorest provinces, eight are from Mindanao and only two are from Visayas - Samar and Siquijor.
With this data, they are aggressive in their campaign to gather different stakeholders, agencies, civil society organization, different sectors to come together to work hand-in-hand for a unified approach to combat the perennial problem on poverty in Mindanao and in the country as a whole.
Baringa expressed his confidence for the realization of the project as the President has been supportive in their anti-poverty initiatives.
"We are happy that the President is very supportive," he said.
Last October 25, the NAPC launched its anti-poverty campaign called Kilos Sambayanan, designed to address the 10 basic needs of Filipinos namely food and land reform, water, shelter, work and national industrialization, healthcare, education, social protection, healthy environment, peace, and people's participation.
The program will serve as the "measuring stick" of the impact of government programs in addressing these needs. It was earlier launched in Luzon last July 16 in Delpan, Tondo, Manila. The launch is also part of the annual commemoration of the National Week of Overcoming Extreme Poverty.