1. Office of the President of the Philippines
NATIONAL ANTI-POVERTY COMMISSION
Water System Training Center, MWSS-LWUA Complex, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City
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Mr. Bryan G. Villasana, NAPC Communications Officer
+639272862812 www.napc.gov.ph
PRESS RELEASE
June 17, 2014
Philippines Showcases Rural Enterprises to ASEAN Senior Officials
Strategic partnership through enterprises between the government, NGOs, private institutions, and CSOs
enables the inclusion of the poor in the economic growth.
The 11th
Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE) delegates from
Brunei, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will
formulate policies that will directly benefit the poor in Southeast Asia.
The Philippines, through the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), hosts this year’s event. The week-
long engagement of representatives from ASEAN Member States includes a visit to Bohol’s rural enterprises,
one of which is the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc. – Mutually Reinforcing Institutions
(CARD-MRI).
CARD-MRI is a micro-finance and community-based social development company that provides financial
access, micro-finance and educational, health, and livelihood assistance, and other services to the poor,
especially to women.
It has a Package Assistance for Disasters (PAID) Plan, which annually collects P250 per member in exchange
for death, accident, fire, and calamity insurance. The company continuously updates its programs to fit the
needs of its members who have now reached 29,000 in Bohol.
A week after the earthquake that struck Bohol in October last year, CARD-MRI released up to P9,500
insurance money to their members who survived the 7.8 magnitude tremor. It also provided relief goods
and assisted local government units in their rehabilitation and recovery work.
“CARD-MRI’s program,” adds NAPC Under-secretary Jude Esguerra, “is a good example of how civil society
effectively complements government efforts in disaster response. But what is important to note is that this
program makes business sense; that is to say, it is easily replicable in other areas.
The 11th
Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE) formally
opened its session this morning.