Aquino: Magna Carta of the Poor is 'mission impossible'

By PATRICIA DENISE CHIU, GMA News

Published March 26, 2013 4:30pm

Following up on his earlier assessment that the vetoed Magna Carta of the Poor is unrealistic, President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday went further by referring to the rejected measure as “mission impossible.”

“Maawa tayo doon sa mga kawani ng gobyerno, bibigyan mo ng mission impossible tapos kakasuhan mo pa ‘pag hindi nagawa iyong imposible. So na-obliga ako na i-veto ito,” Aquino told reporters in Pasay City where he conducted an inspection at a bus terminal there.

Responding to critics who said he should not have rejected the entire bill, Aquino further explained that he could not have line vetoed the measure even if he wanted to, saying that it was neither an allocations, a revenue, nor a tariff bill.

“[Ang] appropriation measure puwedeng line item, revenue measure puwedeng line item veto, tariff measure puwedeng line item din. And it doesn’t fall in any of the three so we cannot line item veto [according to] Section 1 of Article 6 [of the Constitution,]” Aquino said.

Still, Aquino assured the public that the proposed bill will be given priority in the 16th Congress.

“‘Yung mga umabot na ng third reading binibigyan ng priority by the next Congress na pina-facilitate iyong passage,” Aquino said, adding that a realistic bill needs closer study.

“Mag-uusap, ipakita lang ‘yung agam-agam. Nabasa ko sa dyaryo kanina parang lalo pang kinlaro na may administrative sanctions doon sa mga hindi magkakaloob nitong rights na ito,” Aquino said.

SB 3309

Under Senate Bill 3309, or the proposed Magna Carta of the Poor, the poor shall have the following rights:

(a) the right to food;

(b) right to employment and livelihood;

(d) the right to shelter; and

(e) the right to basic health services and medicines.

"The government shall, as a matter of duty and obligation, provide the requirements, conditions and opportunities for the full enjoyment of these rights of the poor, and which the poor can demand as a matter of right," it said.

Under the right to food, "the Department of Social Welfare and Development shall expand a program of subsidy to help the poor meet their minimum food requirements."

Under the right to employment, "the Department of Labor and Employment, in coordination with people's organizations, National Anti-Poverty Commission, local government units, and relevant government agencies and government financial institutions, shall primarily be responsible for providing facilitation assistance to the poor to ensure better access to livelihood opportunities and employment openings in private enterprises and in government programs and projects."

Under the right to education, the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, in coordination with government agencies concerned, shall ensure the right of the poor to free public elementary and secondary education and access to quality education at the college level.

Under the right to shelter, "the government shall develop and implement a housing program for the poor which shall include a well-targeted and responsive subsidy scheme that will provide decent housing with the least financial burden."

Under the right to health services, the local government units shall ensure the availability of quality primary healthcare services to the poor. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, in coordination with the Department of Health, shall also ensure that "every Filipino, especially the poor, is covered and entitled to an adequate package of health services."

The Department of Social Welfare and Development shall be in charge of coming up with a system of classification to be used for targeting the beneficiaries.

Funding for the programs shall be taken from the existing appropriations of different departments and agencies and from the share of the government in the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and in the proceeds from the sale of sequestered assets and forfeited goods or articles. — with Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News

Tags: magnacartaforthepoor, poverty