Press Release
February 28, 2014

VILLAR: PUT AN END TO POVERTY THROUGH COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES

SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, enjoined everyone to help alleviate the lives of Filipinos and put a stop to poverty through community enterprises.

In her inspirational message, Villar told the participants to use their learning from the two-day Orientation/Training on Strategic Performance Management of Community Enterprises, which started yesterday (February 27, 2014) at the Villar SIPAG Bldg. C5-Road, Las Piñas City, to boost their enterprises/organizations.

"For us, the promise to help you rise from poverty is not just a campaign promise. Even before we entered politics, we already have projects and programs to help improve the lives of our less fortunate countrymen through the Villar Foundation, now known as Villar SIPAG, which has been in existence for more than 20 years," said Villar, who also served as Congresswoman of Las Piñas for three terms or nine consecutive years.

"A big part of our legacy is our humble contribution in helping our countrymen overcome poverty. And a great part of that is Villar SIPAG," further stated the wife of former Senate President Manny Villar.

A total of 100 persons coming from various participating community enterprises, participated in the first-ever workshop sponsored by Senator Cynthia Villar and the Committee on Agriculture and Food.

Prof. Edel Guiza spoke on the following topics: The Poverty Situation, Causes of Poverty; Strategic Management of Community and Social Enterprises, Strategic Performance Management, Applying the Balanced Scorecard to Community and Social Enterprises, and the Social audit of CDA.

Citing the 2011 ASEAN Statistical Report on Millennium Development Goals by the ASEAN Secretariat, Guiza noted the Philippines maybe considered as laggard among the selected Southeast Asian countries. She also related that in 2009, an ADB Study on Poverty in the Philippines reported an increase in poverty incidence among families from 24.4% in 2003 to 26.9% in 2006 and an increase in the number of poor families from 4.0 million in 2003 to 4.7 million in 2006.

Guiza said cooperatives founded on self-help, self-determination and self-responsibility have proven to be very effective in empowering communities and improving their quality of lives in developed countries.

However, cooperatives in the Philippines have been used and abused by people with selfish interests giving cooperatives in the country a "bad name".

Its vast potentials for poverty reduction, Guiza said, remain largely untapped, underutilized and unrecognized.

Guiza of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) also acts as facilitator of the workshop.

Agricultural Training Institute Director Asterio P. Saliot will also deliver the inspirational talk.

The workshop culminated with study visit on the community enterprises of Senator Cynthia Villar in Las Piñas City.

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