The Philippine Poverty Reduction Summit 2025 (PPRS25) concluded on Tuesday, emphasizing a strong call to action for deeper collaboration and a renewed commitment to inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Lope Santos III described the summit as a critical reassessment of the agency’s poverty reduction strategies. “In the past years, we strengthened basic sector participation through the regional basic sector coordinating councils, which served as cornerstones for fostering collaboration at the regional level and bridging national initiatives with local and community levels, including with the Regional and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils,” he stated.
Santos added that the NAPC has enhanced its coordination with regional development councils and institutional formations to ensure that the poverty reduction agenda is integrated into regional and local development plans.
The summit aimed to align and unify the efforts of stakeholders toward reducing the national poverty incidence to single-digit levels by 2028. This goal aligns with the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028 and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s target to decrease poverty from 18.1 percent in 2021 to 8.8 percent by 2028, as well as the Philippines’ commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicated that poverty incidence dropped to 15.5 percent in 2023, signaling progress but also underscoring the urgency for sustained interventions.
The multi-sectoral summit gathered representatives from the NAPC Secretariat, national government agencies, local government units, the 14 basic sectors, development partners, civil society, the academe, the private sector, and international institutions. Discussions focused on strengthening partnerships, promoting innovative and localized solutions, and addressing the root causes of poverty.
The summit also featured the National Anti-Poverty Action Agenda, the National Poverty Reduction Plan, and plans for the nationwide rollout of local poverty reduction action plans. The NAPC emphasized the need for program convergence and coordinated delivery of services by government agencies and development partners to tackle multi-dimensional poverty and bridge development gaps.
Side events and galleries during the summit showcased updates on government anti-poverty initiatives, the legislative agenda of the basic sectors, and grassroots innovations aimed at empowering poor and marginalized communities.
NAPC Undersecretary and Deputy Director General Esnaen Catong urged participants to engage with grassroots communities to implement the insights gained during the summit. “Ang mga miyembro ng ating provincial poverty reduction committee, 50 percent constituted from the basic sectors, are the local chief executives in accordance to Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991,” he noted.
He emphasized that the participation of the basic sector is crucial, as they represent the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, which is the fundamental reason for the NAPC’s establishment on June 30, 1998.
