President Benigno S. Aquino III bared on Thursday that two additional funding sources to
increase the coverage of the government’s poverty alleviation program, the Kapit Bisig Laban
sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-Cidss) to include
1.3-million more Filipino families.
The President said the new funding sources are part of the administration’s renewed drive to
garner more funding sources through public-private partnerships.
Without specifying an amount, the President said the World Bank had agreed to provide
fresh funds for the Kalahi-Cidss program, one of three poverty alleviation measures the
government is implementing through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The other two programs are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which allocates
conditional cash grants to qualified families provided certain requirements concerning
maternal health and the education and health of their children, are met; and the Self
Employment Assistance-Kabayan (SEA-K) – a sustainable livelihood project that aims to
enhance the socio-economic skills of qualified Filipino families.
The President pointed out that the number of additional Filipino families who will get the
chance to improve their lives through the anti-poverty program is still far from his target of
4.6-million families.
President Aquino added that the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an innovative and
independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty will
give a total of P5-billion for the Kalahi-Cidss program. (PCOO/PIA)