Misamis Occidental Governor Henry S. Oaminal directed regional and local agencies to harmonize budgets, tighten monitoring mechanisms, and fast-track livelihood and social protection programs as part of a stronger push to meet Northern Mindanao’s poverty reduction targets by 2028.
The governor issued the marching orders as Misamis Occidental hosted its first-ever Provincial Anti-Poverty Summit, convening national, regional,and local leaders to align strategies and close implementation gaps on the ground.
As Chairperson of the Regional Development Council X (RDC-X), Oaminal emphasized that the gathering must translate into concrete, measurable gains for farmers, workers, women, youth, and vulnerable families.
“Today’s summit serves as a critical platform to address these gaps head-on. It allows us to assess what has worked, identify what has not, and align our strategies to ensure that every peso spent, every policy crafted, and every program implemented contributes meaningfully to lifting families out of poverty,” said Oaminal. “More importantly, it strengthens accountability and reinforces our collective responsibility to meet our poverty reduction targets with urgency and unity,” he added.
The summit gathered officials from the National Anti-Poverty Commission, key regional line agencies,and local government units to synchronize programs and ensure that funding-particularly under the Local Government Support Fund–directly reaches communities most in need.
Lope B. Santos III, Secretary of the National Anti-poverty Commission, affirmed the governor’s call to transform poverty reduction into a shared regional mission. “Today, we come together not merely to correct numbers, but to correctly respond to them, transforming poverty reduction into a shared regional mission,” Santos said. “As we move forward, let this summit be a turning point–not just in plans and policies, but in action and accountability. When national agencies, local governments, civil society, and communities work together, progress becomes possible and sustainable. ”
During the program, Mylah Faye Aurora B. Cariño, Vice Chairperson of RDC X and Regional Director of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development X, presented the region’s latest economic and poverty situationer, including the midterm update of the Regional Development Plan 2023-2028 and priority targets aligned with the proposed FY 2027 budget.
Officials from the regional offices of the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of the Interior and Local Government provided updates on funding mechanisms and compliance measures, reinforcing the province’s commitment to align national support with local implementation.
The summit concluded with Oaminal directing agencies and local governments to adopt clearer performance indicators and reporting systems to track progress toward the 2028 poverty reduction goals, shifting the focus from dialogue to deliverables across Northern Mindanao.
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