LEGARDA MEETS IMF’S LAGARDE: Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, meets International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde in a lunch during the IMF chief’s visit to the Philippines. Legarda echoed Lagarde’s call to ensure inclusive growth, especially through support for rural enterprises, to reduce poverty. The Senator stressed that laws on rural livelihoods—the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act (RA 9501), the Barangay Kabuhayan Act (RA 9509), and the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act (RA 10000), should be fully implemented.