The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that the intensified implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, as well as other social services included in the Regional Development Plan, has helped in the decrease of poverty incidence in the region.
From 19.2 percent family poverty incidence in CAR in 2009, 595 families left the poverty line in 2012 decreasing the family poverty incidence to an estimated 17.5 percent according to the latest assessment by the Philippine Statistics Authority-National Statistical Coordination Board in the region.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) still intensifies its efforts to further decrease the poverty incidence in the region with poverty reduction as the center of development agenda in the Millennium Development Goals. This time, the department calls not just for support from partner agencies but for stronger individual commitments to support education and health, thus the simultaneous re-launching of the Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago! Campaign all over the Philippines on November 27 at the DSWD-CAR Regional Haven.
The Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago! Campaign is an advocacy by the DSWD which aims to highlight the positive changes in the lives of the vulnerable and poor. Last year, it was identified that the main objective of the campaign is to solicit strong public support to health and education. With the re-launching set before the week ends, the department aims to achieve this goal by popularizing the Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago! Campaign social media where people from all over the country can submit their stories of positive change. The campaign also encourages people from all walks of life to make their Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago! commitments to help achieve a better Philippines.
“The campaign is not just for Pantawid [Pamilya] beneficiaries anymore,” said Edward Gonzales of the DSWD Social Marketing Service. He also added that it should be a convergence effort not just from the beneficiaries, the DSWD, and partner agencies but from every person who wants to see changes in the lives of the poor. The first-person slant is also applied so the campaign may achieve a more personal approach to each individual making the commitment. These efforts will then be turned into stories and posted on the Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago! social media for everyone to see and hopefully, will inspire others to do the same.
The re-launching will include the public viewing of the Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago! Music Video, a media conference, and the simultaneous launch of the campaign social media. #DSWD-CAR, SOCIAL MARKETING UNIT, Ann Jennica R. Quirimit
