As the government reviews its poverty metrics, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. returned the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) under the supervision of the Office of the President (OP).
Both commissions were previously placed under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through Executive Order (EO) No. 67 (series of 2018) to harmonize government poverty-related policies.
Last week, Marcos decided to repeal EO 67 and bring back the said commissions to the OP through EO 123.
‘Placing the PCUP and NAPC under the administrative supervision of OP will strengthen policy coordination, ensure greater convergence of poverty reduction and urban development initiatives, and facilitate the efficient implementation of programs requiring a whole-of-government approach,’ the new two-page issuance stated.
NAPC serves as the coordinating and advisory body for the governments social reform agenda, while the PCUP provides the consultative mechanisms and provides recommendation to the President on poverty-related policies.
Under EO No. 292 or the ‘Administrative Code of 1987,’ the President can reorganize the administrative structure of OP in order to achieve simplicity, economy, and efficiency
EO 67 took effect immediately after it was issued on 18 August 2026.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that that poverty threshold dropped to 9.7 percent in 2025 from 15.5 percent in 2023.
The latest poverty threshold figures, however, drew criticisms for using outdated methodology.