Press Release
July 17, 2019

De Lima hails signing of 'community-based monitoring system' into law

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has hailed the signing into law of a social justice measure which institutionalizes a Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) to provide field-based data in designing the government's anti-poverty programs.

"Nagpapasalamat tayo't naisabatas na ang isang panukala na magpapalakas sa mga pagkilos ng pamahalaan kontra kahirapan," said De Lima, referring to Republic Act No. 11135, also known as the Community-Based Monitoring System Act.

Last July 15, President Duterte signed into law the measure, originally logged as Senate Bill 2172, which was referred to the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, which she chairs, as primary committee.

The lady Senator from Bicol had authorized Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, to which the bill was referred as secondary committee, to conduct hearings, prepare the committee report, sponsor and defend the bill before the plenary.

"Nagpapasalamat tayo kay Sen. Sonny (Angara) sa kanyang buong pagsisikap na maisulong ang panukalang ito. Maraming salamat din sa iba pang may akda ng batas at at sa mga kapwa ko senador na bumoto upang ito'y maging ganap na katuparan," added De Lima, a champion of social justice and human rights.

SBN 2172, was authored by Senators Nancy Binay and Juan Miguel Zubiri, with De Lima, Angara and Loren Legarda as co-authors. The measure was approved on third and final reading by the Senate with an overwhelming 18-0 vote with no abstention.

According to her, the law will further strengthen and complement the two other legislations passed by her committee - Republic Act No. 11310, or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (or 4Ps) Law and Republic Act No. 11291, or Magna Carta of the Poor Law, which she both authored.

"Napakalaking bagay ng batas na ito para matiyak na napakikinabangan ng ating mga mahihirap na kababayan ang tulong na ibinibigay ng gobyerno at kung nakatutulong nga ito upang sila'y umangat sa buhay," said De Lima.

The law mandates the establishment of a monitoring system down to the barangay level where data collected shall institutionalize a nationwide databank that can be used by national government agencies and local government units in the formulation and implementation of poverty-alleviation and development programs and to observe their impact on the quality of life of the Filipino people.

The data generated by the CBMS shall be used by appropriate government agencies in prioritizing much needed social-protection programs of government in areas identified to have the highest incidence of poverty.

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