“To address poverty, our impoverished fellow citizens and farmers should not wield guns and bullets, but rather money, food, and hope.”

Acting Regional Director Atty. Emilio D. Escueta III

Legazpi City, Albay ― In a significant stride towards mitigating hunger and poverty, CDA Region 5 and other twenty (20) government agencies joined hands for a ceremonial signing of the Regional Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under DSWD’s EPAHP and SLP. The event that took place in A & A Bed and Breakfast Inn on April 5, 2024, marked a fundamental step in the collective efforts to address socio-economic challenges plaguing communities.

In his welcome address, Regional Director Norman S. Laurio of DSWD Field Office 5 emphasized the agency’s core mandate of alleviating hunger, ensuring food security, and reducing poverty across urban and rural areas, including marginalized communities.

“We cannot truly address the root causes of poverty in isolation. It necessitates a collaborative effort among agencies, embodying what we refer to as the ‘whole of nation’ approach,” RD Laurio stated. “With this MOU, we all commit to work together in the development of strategies and innovative solutions to enhanced food security, mitigate hunger and promote sustainable agriculture.” RD Laurio added.

DSWD’s initiative garnered widespread support from various partner agencies including the CDA. Under the RMOU, partner agencies like DAR Region V, Department of Agriculture Region V, DA-ATI, DA-BFAR, DA-NFA, DA-NIA, DA-PhilRice, DILG Region V, BJMP Region V, Dep Ed Region V, DOH Region V, DOST Region V, DTI Region V, TESDA Region V, NAPC, Commission on Population and Development, National Nutrition Council Region V, and Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation Region V reaffirmed their commitment to contribute to hunger mitigation and poverty reduction efforts, particularly through capacity-building programs and skills training for ARBOs, SLPAs, CBOs, and other rural-based organizations through existing and other related training of EPAHP partners and linking of participating CBOs and cooperatives to prospective markets like institutional feeding programs of the government.

As the principal agency mandated to foster the growth and viability of cooperatives, CDA assumed important roles in the RMOU. Among its key responsibilities are the endorsement of operating primary cooperatives engaged in the production and distribution of essential commodities such as rice, vegetables, aquaculture & poultry products, and bakery goods to DSWD, facilitation of cooperative engagement with pertinent government bodies, and organization of Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations (SLPAs) into cooperatives.

Echoing similar sentiments in his message of support, Atty. Emilio D. Escueta III, underscored the agency’s commitment to leveraging cooperatives as instruments of social justice and economic development. CDA pledged its support to the government’s hunger mitigation and poverty reduction efforts by focusing on capacity building programs for registered cooperatives in the region.