NAPC seeks P4.5-billion trust fund

THE National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) on Wednesday proposed the establishment of the People’s Development Trust Fund worth P4.5 billion aimed at coordinating microfinance services for the poor.

In a briefing, NAPC Secretary and Lead Convenor Lope B. Santos III asked President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Congress to immediately set up the trust fund, noting this is in line with its mandate under Republic Act No. 8425 or the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act.

He added that the commission had already drafted the executive order, setting up the fund after talks with the Office of the President and two of the NAPC’s member agencies, namely the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management.

The NAPC also had discussions with several representatives in Congress, hoping to persuade them to allocate funding for the trust fund through the General Appropriations Act.

“While this is already allocated in law, there is also a need for specific annual allocation coming from the National Expenditure Program to be approved in the General Appropriations Act,” Mr. Santos said.

Mr. Santos clarified that the commission would not use the fund entirely, but rather it would only use the interest income from the fund as a capacity-building fund for microfinance services of basic sectors and local government units. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza