Public Service | National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Posts 87% Overall Accomplishment Rate

Even in the face of COVID-19, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has posted an 87% overall accomplishment rate for the first quarter of the year based on four key physical areas involved in addressing the cycle of poverty in the Philippines.

The commission has particularly excelled in the training of volunteers for the Ka-isa ng Sambayan Laban sa Kahirapan (Ka-sambayanihan) volunteer program, its partner in implementing and monitoring various anti-poverty initiatives at the grassroots level. Seven hundred eighty-nine people, 20 more than the initial target of 769, rated the training as “good” or “better,” for an achievement rate of 102.6 percent.

Recognizing that public consultations and multi-stakeholder dialogues are necessary to understand further issues affecting poverty alleviation, NAPC has organized 110 out of 132 target consultative and convergent platforms,  allowing it to reach 83.3 percent of its goal.

At the same time, it has prepared 24 out of 30 policy, plan, and program recommendations and delivered 2,518 out of 3,063 information pieces and advocacy events for 80 percent and 82.21 percent accomplishment rates, respectively.

“These were all made possible through the efforts of the different units of the agency working together with its partners: the basic sectors, the national government agencies, development partners, and other stakeholders, towards the achievement of its goals and objectives,” said Atty. Noel K. Felongco, NAPC Secretary and Lead Convenor.

He added:  “I strongly believe that the success of our fight against poverty is tethered not only in the design and implementation of our programs and projects but most importantly in the unity among us and all of our stakeholders.”

The NAPC operates using the Sambayanihan Serbisyong Sambayanihan as a guiding framework.  Sambayanihan lays down in detail the agency’s visions and targets for poverty reduction from 2019 to 2023 consistent with “AmBisyon Natin 2040,” the country’s picture of the future, and operationalized by the medium-term Philippine Development Plan,

The NAPC has adopted its thrusts of intensified policy advocacy and people’s participation based on a comprehensive view of poverty, towards the fulfillment of 10 basic needs, namely: Food and Land Reform, Water, Shelter,  Work,  Health, Education, Social Protection, Healthy Environment, Peace, and Participation.

Although the pandemic has had a significant impact on NAPCs programs, especially in monitoring and coordination, Felongco said that the staff and volunteers are still actively implementing projects for disadvantaged Filipinos. 

Among these initiatives are the Kasambayanihan Caravans aimed at bringing basic government services closer to remote provinces and the Paaralang Bayan Online. This weekly live stream provides information to volunteers and all sectors about government programs and initiatives against poverty. 

NAPC also coordinates with local governments and other national government agencies for the NAPC-PAGCOR Poverty Reduction through Rural Development (NAPC-PAGCOR PRRD) Projects, including integrated coconut production, the establishment of organic farming and trading posts, and other projects at selected sites in the country.

It has currently signed Memorandum of Agreements with 190 cities and municipalities, 7 provinces and 2 barangays. This will be added with more areas as more signing of MOA (virtual) will be conducted to help achieve the poverty reduction program targets.

To know more about NAPC, visit https://napc.gov.ph/. 

Public Health | Immunization in the Philippines Situation

Immunization in the Philippines, at an all-time low rate
DOH, experts call for continued immunization amid pandemic

Immunization is one of the public health services given primarily by our health centers to prevent any outbreak of known public health diseases that can also spread communicably. However, due to the current pandemic and measures of lockdown, there is a huge concern over an all-time low rate of vaccination now in the Philippines, according to a Department of Health (DOH) official.

With this happening, the DOH and other medical experts are calling for continued immunization despite the quarantine explaining that the country could not afford an outbreak within a pandemic.

The DOH National Immunization Program manager, Dr. Maria Wilda Silva, said that from January to March, vaccination coverage has dropped to 7 percent which is an all-time low. This number is way below the ideal 24 percent coverage for the country to reach the 95 percent target by end 2020.

“This is very low because of the disruption from both the supply and demand side,” Silva said in the recent online Kapihan of Samahang Plaridel.

The call for immunization is strongly aligned with the statements released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF which also highlighted the importance of continuing vaccination at this challenging time said that the benefits of immunization clearly outweigh the risks at this time.
“Don’t be afraid because children must get immunized. They are at higher risk of getting measles, polio, pneumonia and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” according to Dr. Lulu  Bravo said, Executive Director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination.

“Let us all be reminded that first, if children and other vulnerable sectors are not vaccinated, they can get sick and can die from these vaccine-preventable diseases,” she adds.

Silva shared that one of the vaccine-preventable diseases, pneumonia, remains the number one killer disease among children 5 years old and below. The tender for the child pneumococcal vaccine—between PCV 10 and PCV 13-- is currently being reviewed by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) for comparability and cost effectiveness.

Asked on the new evidence presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) saying that the two PCVs in the market are equally effective in protecting the children from pneumonia, Silva said:  “When we did the cost effectiveness analysis, they are both cost effective. The price of PCV10 and PCV13, they fall on that range na cost effective sila pareho. But, of course, there is another benefit when we chose the PCV13 because it contains the three sero-types that are not found in PCV10 before. But now with the new evidence, this was now presented to National Immunization Committee and then it was brought up to the HTAC for further review and we are waiting for the review.”

The PCV tender is massive, which is even bigger than that of the controversial Dengvaxia procurement.

“Currently, there is only one available pneumococcal conjugate vaccine available in the market (PCV 13). It is a very expensive vaccine and its eating up more than 60% of the budget of the national immunization program. Mahal talaga pag isang produkto lang ang nasa merkado, ” Silva said.
The HTAC Review of the PCV vaccines is expected to be completed this June.

For her part, Dr. Mary Ann Bunyi, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP), said that like COVID-19, “each opponent virus has its own effective weapon of infecting vulnerable individuals, especially children which is why, vaccination is critical even during a pandemic.

“Sa ngayon, meron na tayong mabisang bala para sa tigdas, polio, tusperina, flu, pulmonya, pagtatae at iba pang mga sakit. So, labanan natin at sugpuin natin ito upang mapanatili nating malusog ang ating mga bata. Sama-sama, tulong-tulong tayong ihayag sa mga magulang kung gaano kahalaga ang magpabakuna.” (For now, we already have an effective defense weapon against measles, polio, pertussis, flu, pneumonia, diarrhea, and many other illnesses. We need to fight and beat these to ensure the health of our kids. We should all together make parents aware how important it is to get vaccinated.)

Comment: Yes, as a nurse, there are a lot of highly proven effective vaccines given already to the public. Usually, those who receive these vaccines are the newborns and children who are part of the vulnerable population. With the current crisis, I just hope that there will be means to reach these population aside from going to the centers. I also hope that other public health programs will not be set aside because of the current pandemic. Let us protect our vulnerable population while protecting our health care workers, too. :-)

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Public Service | Discussion of PUVMP at Mindanao Transportation Cooperatives Congress

Recently, the Mindanao Transportation Cooperatives Congress was held in Davao City. It was participated by cooperatives from different parts of Mindanao. The cooperatives present were from UV Express/Tourist Service, motorcycle for hire, taxi service, public utility jeepney (PUJ) / multicab, buses and multiple types of units. The event was also graced by representatives from the Department of Transportation, Office of Transportation Cooperatives, Land Transportation Office, Land Transport and Franchising Regulatory Board and City Government of Davao.

The event was conducted to discuss the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) which is part of the Duterte administration's legacy for a safe, reliable and comfortable mass transportation. It was a very big ticket of transformation, there were a lot of challenges but a strong political will made a step towards achieving the goals of the program.

The current situation of our mass transit is really not at par to international standard. It may be a "very Filipino" to have the jeepney in the streets, but it is not safe, reliable and comfortable at all. There may be health risks that can be associated with these mass transport and a lot of times being involved in the vehicular accident. There are a lot of question of road safety and road worthiness of such vehicle.

However, with the PUVMP, it aims to modernize our transport fleet, reform the current system of the industry, be environment friendly, change the way Filipinos do mass transport and improve income among drivers and the industry itself.

So far, within this program, Local Government Units (LGUs) are very much involved as they are more knowledgeable about the situation in their own localities. This step is among the best ways to make the transformation more appropriate. So far, there are a number of LGUs and cooperatives in selected areas who took the risk of adopting the program and it has been reaping good results!

The government is very willing to help the cooperatives achieve the goals of the program. One thing is through the 5-6-7-8 mechanism which involves loanable amount from Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines - 5% equity, 6% per annum, 7 years to pay and P80,000 subsidy from the government.

There are high hopes for this program as it will be a step to make our mass transportation more systematic, safe and comfortable. I am very happy with its initial start and very hopeful for its full implementation as the congress has helped the cooperatives understand more of the program. Aside from that, many suppliers are eager to help the cooperatives realize their needed transformation.

I hope this article helps!

As a frequent traveler, this modernization program will bring us closer to what the international community has been implementing years back. We are yet to explore and start but never too late to be on track. We need to learn how to adapt with changes and deal with it in our daily lives. Modernizing our transport system will also make the middle class opt more for public transportation and have their private cars rest for a while in their own garage. A more efficient transportation system will reduce the number of vehicles running in our streets!

Thank you for visiting my avenue, www.ten7avenue.com and hopefully to hear your thoughts! 😊

Public Service | Understanding the TRAIN and other Comprehensive Tax Reform Program

Usec. Karl Chua giving overview of the CTRP

Taxes?!! Oh well, it is a very complicated matter and my understanding is very limited when it comes to it. Do I need to digest these things? Are you sure? Who wants to talk about it? I am just an ordinary non-accounting individual… Okay, perhaps, I really need to learn about it since everything I buy, pay and earn, there is tax. Where shall we start? >>>

The Philippines is gearing towards a point of its nationhood wherein people want to taste better public infrastructures, social services and efficiency of tax system - though it should be the case, since then. To fuel all these public goods, the government needs to have an efficient tax system that is simple and fair to collect enough revenue. Honestly, a tax system should be understandable even to a non-accounting individual and it should be understood where and how these taxes are collected. Every peso that is taxed should be a peso of service felt by an individual. Hence, the government is now doing its part to make a change towards a simpler, fairer and efficient tax system through the comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP).

I am thankful for the visit of the representatives from the Department of Finance in the person of Usec. Karl Chua and Dir. Mitch Abdon to take time dissecting the CTRP in a manner that is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound). There is an analysis from the Department of Finance that says our tax system is not catching up with the economic needs of the country in the past 20 years - thus, creating an inefficiency of our taxation. The CTRP is not just a campaign promise to be fulfilled by the seating highest official, but really a move to make our tax system as simple as ABC. The CTRP is set at five packages, wherein the first package is known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law and the second package is now with the congress for scrutiny. I will be sharing the knowledge I have learned.

According to Usec. Chua, there are two (2) reasons why the CTRP is needed: 1) TO REDISTRIBUTE INCOME and 2) TO FUND PUBLIC GOODS. These are very easy concepts but with deep meaning. To redistribute income means richer people are taxed to help the poor - those who can afford more are taxed more on some specific goods. In relation to that, the taxes collected will be spent for the public goods like infrastructure - there is said to be a 50-year infrastructure deficiency that our country has thus the need for more funds through taxes. Usec. Chua added that this CTRP is special since there is no financial crisis that our country faces, even without the CTRP our country has enough funds only that it can’t fund big infrastructure projects and social services.

Indeed, the goal is very noble for our country, but there are those who really are hesitant with this change. There are assumptions of this being anti-poor, this will be a factor that will bring down industries, and our economy will go down. However, Usec. Chua said that we should see the tax reform in three (3) ways to appreciate it better: 1) SEE IT AS A PACKAGE (wholistic view of the concept and not as dissected parts), 2) VIEW THE IMPACT NOT ON REVENUE PERSPECTIVE BUT ON SPENDING SIDE (expense towards better services, schools and quality healthcare), and 3) INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE (a long term perspective - better future of the next generation anchored to the Ambisyon 2040: Zero Poverty and every Filipino should be at least middle-class).

As written earlier, the CTRP has 5 sets of packages.

The first package is the TRAIN, in which, it asks the households or families to contribute to fund the most important public projects of the government. So far, according to the data of the Department of Finance, revenue collection is aligned with the targets even the personal income taxes are lowered. Basically, the TRAIN speaks of lower income tax for higher consumption tax among specific goods like sweetened-sugar beverages (SSB), tobacco, and excise on oil - meaning, those who have the capability to pay more of goods are taxed more. For example, with the SSB, here are the goods taxed more: sweetened juice drinks, sweetened tea, all carbonated drinks with added sugar, flavored water, energy drinks, sports drinks, powdered drinks not classified as milk, cereal or other grain beverages, and non-alcoholic beverages that contain added sugar. Whew, that’s a lot, meaning to say, better drink water instead and its healthier. There are clear exemptions on goods like 3-in-1 coffee mix, milk and 100% natural juice. So, this means to say, TRAIN should not be an excuse of adding prices on 3-in-1 coffee, milk and 100% natural juices - we can call the attention of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) if suggested retail prices (SRP) are not observed. “Profiteering” is a term that takes advantage of this event to earn more. Like for example, in a usual fast food, value meal prices are now up 9 pesos with drinks. Aside from that, they will offer you to upgrade to iced tea or pineapple juice, your option if you’ll take the bait of “healthier option”, that it was 15 pesos before TRAIN, but now 24 pesos in effect of TRAIN. This has to be checked by the DTI, too, because the computation of the Department of Finance could have been only 4 pesos increase for an upgrade or it is like adding 2 tablespoons of sugar in the drink. For the excise on oil, Dir. Abdon said that diesel is cheaper because it wasn’t taxed and a picture of rich people buying diesel consuming SUVs abound making rich people still exempt to tax. Dir. Abdon added that based on statistics, 50% of oil consumed are among the 10% richer population and among the 1% richest household consumes 13% of the oil. Actually, she has a point, the chase for tax is not against the poor but among the rich, though there are diffused effects among those public utility vehicles. Among the “entitled” jeepney operators, their claim of adding 2 pesos for the fare is really a leap of faith, as if a passenger is paying a fourth of a liter of diesel in a 4 kilometer distance of ride. On the other hand, gasoline stations still offer discounts for diesel, meaning, they can still avail of lesser diesel price - play it fair!

L-R: Usec. Chua and Dir. Abdon during open forum

The second package asks the corporate sector to contribute. The process will be lower corporate income tax but less incentives and subsidies or exemptions to be fair. The third package asks those with real estates or assets to contribute. The fourth package asks those with savings or investments earning interests to contribute. And, the fifth package asks the drinkers, smokers, polluters, miners, gamblers and all those with negative effects in the society to contribute. As we can see, this CTRP is designed so that everybody will contribute for the better of our future.

As discussed by Dir. Abdon, the proposed second package of CTRP is anchored on facts. The country is asking 30% corporate income tax but it only contributed 3.2 percent in the gross domestic product (GDP) unlike in Thailand that it asks 20% corporate income tax but has a high yield in their GDP at 6.1 percent. Aside from that, our country gives so much incentives of different forms but still our performance is way behind our neighboring countries with Vietnam soaring up. In addition to that, even with incentives to investors, for 50 years already, our foreign direct investments (FDI) is still the lowest in the region. How sad it is, right? Well, investors also see infrastructure of the country, as well as the bureaucracy before considering the incentives which the current administration also tries to enhance. Perhaps, the tax reform is timely after years of studying how our system works compare to our neighboring countries. The CTRP package 2 wants to bring down the corporate income tax from 30% to 25%. Aside from that, it aims to make companies adhere to four (4) principles: 1) performance-based or making companies accountable on targets as to employment and exporting goods, and investing on more development; 2) targeted or aligned with the government’s strategic investment priority plan (SIPP) wherein every 3 years it will be evaluated and reviewed and will serve as basis for incentives; 3) time-bound or giving cap on incentives that has been a 50-year honeymoon but yielding very low; and 4) transparent or the companies receiving incentives will be published regularly. It is also discussed that the previous administration’s effort to monitor companies with incentives through the Tax Incentive Management Transparency Act (TIMTA) has produced data that the government has given away 301 billion pesos of incentives among the companies in 2015. This CTRP package 2 proposal wants to lessen the incentive and not totally abolish it that in every 26 billion deducted in the incentive, corporate income tax will also be lessen to 1% or from 25% to 24%. Another 26 billion deducted again, will less 1% in corporate income tax again or from 24% to 23%. These are just among the things considered in the CTPR package 2. Hopefully, it will be passed into law after scrutiny and according to target timeline.

Post discussion photo opportunity with Usec. Chua

Whew, this post is very lengthy. Yet, I hope, somehow, it enlightens many about how the comprehensive tax reform packages are going to affect and be in effect for our society. The CTRP, too, hopes that more taxpayers will pay their taxes accordingly. It is because the goal is to make everybody contribute, but protecting also the poor through subsidies, for the better of our society with a simple, fair and efficient tax system.

For more information, you can visit the Department of Finance’s facebook page @DOFPH, twitter @DOF_PH and website www.dof.gov.ph/taxreform wherein you can be well-informed with their informational documents there or email them directly at doftaxreform@dof.gov.ph. #TaxReformNow #BuwisParaSaPagbabago #teamddi

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