“Salubungan, a public- private parthership model, the new government’s Accelerated and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAPP) was launched in Camarines Sur last May 6.

ASAPP is an inter-agency support which aims to reduce poverty in multiple dimension through the creation of sustainable meployment, tap the skills and resources of the poor in enabling private enterprise to expand their production capacities and markets.It is a program informed by lessons from poverty reduction efforts. The program will be piloted in Camarines Sur with Iriga City, Bato, Libmanan and Sipocot as the growth hub. Camarines is one among the 10 provinces classified as category I in the updated Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016.It is one among the provinces with high number of poor families .

Based on the latest data, NEDA said that the poverty incidence among the Filipino individuals and families increased is 25.8% and 20% respectively in the first half of 2014 due to the devastating Typhoon Yolanda and high food prices. Camarines Sur was also identified having the capacity to supply raw materials like coconut, livestock,poultry,seafoods and other farm products.

Under the “Salubungan “ model,NEDA link the poor with the enterprises which may need human and material resources through interventions that include skills to increase the poor’s employability in business with growth potential, trade facilitation and market linkages to allow the poor to supply the needed raw materials and provide inputs and services neded by the bigger businesses.

Program to be financed under ASAPP are the Universal Health Care, Conditional Cash Transfer , Sustainable Livelihood “ABOT ALAM” and others for informal settlers families.DSWD is the lead convener and the co-convener is DENR,

Present during the ASSAP launching were DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman, DENR Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio, Undersecretary Oyen Dorotan of NAPC, Regional Directors,Media, Business Sector representatives, other enterpreneurs and other partners. # # # # #eejerusalem