The country's anti-poverty czar has urged local government units (LGUs) to make people the centerpiece of their anti-poverty programs in order implement projects that are viable and can stand the vagaries of time and political circumstances.

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said LGUs have "a tremendous responsibility for the welfare of our people. It is, in this respect, only fitting that we should consult on the overriding questions of social reform, poverty and deprivation in our country."

Panganiban made the statement in an address before a consultation of LGU officials at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Center Friday.

"The conduct of social reform and the supervision of local authority are mainly the responsibility of government. But beyond the matter of responsibility is the matter of counsel and judgment. All political wisdom does not reside in national government, or in local government units, or in Malacañang itself. It comes from the minds and hearts of sincere and devoted men and women, wherever their field of work - whether in public office or in private life," he stressed.

Panganiban said four principles should govern the campaign.

These, he said, are: Asset reform - which is necessary if we are to honestly address the issue of economic equity and ensure that all families receive a just share of the nation's wealth and resources; provision of livelihood and employment opportunities - which are preconditions for economic independence, and freedom from lack and deprivation; third is social protection and human development - because we believe it is the obligation of the state to ensure the access of the poor to those services which are crucial to their welfare and prosperity, and; fourth, the participation of the basic sectors in governance - to guarantee political equity in all levels of the development process.

Panganiban also said representatives and leaders of the basic sectors have crafted an action program to transform these principles into working policies at the community level.

In batting for the action program, Panganiban said "it seeks to promote nationwide progress and better standards of living; it seeks to achieve respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Filipinos; it seeks to remove the economic and social causes of poverty.”

Panganiban said, “We can render a great service to our nation if we choose to be united.” He noted that “the special merit of our joint efforts to defeat poverty and eliminate hunger is that it has fostered unity where once only dissent, mistrust and discontent were possible.”