"BIYAYA ng Pagbabago," a mechanism that will tap anti-poverty agencies to give quality programs, will be launched Saturday, December 9, in Davao City.
Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. said in a press conference on Friday that the program was his response to President Rodrigo Duterte's call for "Pagbabago, Pagmamalasakit, at Patuloy na Pag-unlad”.
Agency partners of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, members of various organizations, fellow heads of agencies, and a representative of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez will officially launch the "Biyaya ng Pagbabago."
"This program will be launched by our office in partnership with the following agencies under Executive Order No. 1: Philippine Coconut Authority, Cooperative Development Authority, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, National Anti-Poverty Commission, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, National Food Authority, National Youth Commission, Office of the President-- Presidential Action Center, Philippine Commission on Women, Presidential Commission on Urban Poor," Evasco said.
He added that the "Biyaya ng Pagbabago" aims to attain better services of all government agencies to improve the quality of life of the Filipino people, and contribute to the upliftment of the 6 million poor and marginalized people at the minimum of poverty towards comfortable life.
Evasco said that based on the study of Project Performance Monitoring Office under his office, which monitors financial utilization of budgetary allotment to the different agencies and departments, it was found that in the previous administration, the rate of utilization of budget is only 60 percent.
"Meaning to say, that at the end of the fiscal year there is a 40 percent of what had been allocated not spent. So this is the reason why I have thought of linking back to people who supported the President Dutterte and to tap Kilusang Pagbabago, so that this Kilusang Pagbabago under the supervision of the Presidential Office of Participatory Governance, will access the programs of the different agencies and the department so that the money of different agencies will be spent," he said.
Evasco said that in his prior experience as the Mayor of the Maribojoc, Bohol, he had a hard time accessing government services. This difficulty is what Biyaya ng Pagbabago Program intends to solve.
He assured that even those who are left-inclined will be served for as long as they are not full-fledged members of the illegal communist organizations.
They target reducing poverty incidence from the present estiate of 26-27 percent to just 14 percent by the end of the President's term.
"14 percent is already enough," he said. "Wala ko nag-expect na tanan jud, basta lang kung naay muingon na nabati namo ang gobyerno para sa amoa then people will now get the idea (I do not expect that all will avail for as long as more will say that they felt government serve them, people now will get the idea)."
He added that they want to plant this idea to people.
"You cannot expect that everyone will join you but if they are convinced that government is doing something, for the people it is already good," Evasco said.