MISAMIS ORIENTAL (PIA) — The Misamis Oriental government is prioritizing behavioral change in its Single Digit Poverty Incidence (SDPI) program, emphasizing mindset shifts and community involvement to fight poverty.
“We may be income poor, but we are not only food poor. We have a lot of potential. Farming, we have very fertile land. Nganong ang mga tawo naglisod man, we have good programs, ang mga tawo galisod man gihapon (Why are people still struggling? We have good programs, but they are still having a hard time). The biggest challenge in our SDPI is about the behavioral transformation,” said Gov. Peter Unabia.
To ensure food security in the province, Unabia ordered the implementation of the Food Always in the Home (FAITH) program in the local government.
Memorandum Order GVL-163-2023 calls on the employees of the Provincial Capitol to pursue backyard gardening, as planting vegetables, fruit trees, and root crops is in accordance with the national government’s program.
The Food Always in the Home (FAITH) program is part of the province’s governance agenda.
Provincial SDPI focal person Jerome Mundo said that to address this challenge, the provincial local government conducts a series of capability learning sessions on mind setting, responsibility and accountability among others.
Mundo also underscored that since the start of the SDPI program, its aim is to help and capacitate barangays that are far and geographically challenged. This includes looking into areas that are easy to reach and looking into the people’s livelihood sustainability.
“We have a technical working group. The members are the department heads who are involved in mapping out the program for the single-digit poverty incidence. Basically, there are planning, health, agriculture, and office workers,” said Mundo.
The province also partners with people in the academe. Most notable is Opol’s former Mayor Dr. Dixon Yasay, with John Luis Sabal, and Josie Rojas from Naawan.
“The most important is the employment creation and job placement. Where there are industries, establishments will be coming to this province. If they plan to construct a factory or an establishment, they will be laborers, skilled workers. So, after this phase, the next step is the recruitment of employees,” Mundo said.
He stressed that the most important thing to combat poverty is employment and collaboration with the private sector for job vacancies.
Among the key priority areas are education, skills development, employment opportunities, and sustainable livelihood support. Through the SDPI program, the provincial government of Misamis Oriental aims to accomplish the 8 percent poverty incident rate by the year 2028 or earlier.
The Philippine Statistic Authority reported that the province has a 22.8 percent poverty incidence rate among the population or 222,460 individuals, while 16.3 percent or 39,210 families live below the poverty line. (SAYU with reports from MisOr PIO/PIA-10/Misamis Oriental)
