Five agencies ink agreement on poverty reduction project

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has signed an agreement with four other government agencies for the implementation of a project that seeks to reduce poverty in the country.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo yesterday said the Departments of Finance (DOF), Budget and Management (DBM), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) have agreed to help the DILG implement the Philippine Poverty Environment Initiative (PPEI) project.

The five agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) during the Biyaheng Pinoy, the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Local Government Code held at the PICC recently.

Robredo said the PPEI seeks to review the collection and distribution of revenues from environment and natural resources (ENR) and shall provide recommendations on how the share of local government units (LGUs) can be increased.

He explained that the project which support poverty reduction through the use of revenues and benefits derived from sustainable management of ENR, will also integrate pro-poor and environment concerns into the development planning.

It also aims to identify the level of expenditure on environment at the national and local levels, and lobby for national budget allocations for programs and projects on sustainable environment including opportunities for green economy.

Under the agreement, the DILG as the lead agency, shall review the use of revenues from natural resources and link poverty-environment opportunities with key planning and budgeting guidelines of LGUs including application of LGU best practices.

The DOF shall review the collection and distribution of revenues from natural resources and recommend how the share of LGUs in revenues from ENR can be increased, while the DBM shall take charge of the public environmental expenditure review at the national and local levels and analyze how these contribute to environmental and poverty outcomes.

On the other hand, the DENR shall develop a national road map and advocacy campaign for the introduction of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) for mining and energy industries in the country, while the NAPC shall take charge in the identification of congressional champions to sponsor budget allocations for environmental programs and projects for poverty alleviation.

The PPEI project, which is supported by the UNDP-UNEP Asia Pacific Regional Programme, was launched last month in an Inception Workshop where representatives from government agencies, academe and non-government organizations convened to commit on the successful implementation of the project. Julian Meneses, PAO-DILG