Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said at the Urban Poor Solidarity Week Program of the Presidential Commission of the Urban Poor (PCUP) on Saturday the Duterte administration is "determined" to triumph the war against poverty.

He said President Rodrigo Duterte "will fight the battles that need to be won, will support the laws that need to be passed and will prioritize the programs that need to be implemented" to assist people in overcoming poverty.

Nograles said during the event that laid 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan showed the administration prioritized combating poverty in the country.

According to the cabinet secretary, the signed Executive Order No. 5 in 2016 which uses AmBisyin Natin 2040 as a guide for development planning aims to create "a prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where no one is poor."

"This means that among the objective of the administration's programs is (to have) a community where majority of people are affluent and no one is poor," Nograles explained.

Nograles also added the administration's initiative to provide opportunities for Filipinos through programs of free tuition for state colleges and universities, free irrigation for farmers and "Build, Build, Build Program."

"All of these are concrete, significant strides that have been made to address poverty and to provide more economic opportunities for our people. This is what the president promised in 2016: strength and compassion," he said.

He also mentioned other programs of the government such as the National ID System, entry of third telecommunications network, "Rice Tarrification Law," as well as the coming VAT exemption of prescribed medicines for hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS