MANILA, Philippines - To raise Filipinos out of poverty has always been the main advocacy of the Villar Foundation and the couple behind it, Senator Manny Villar and former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar, chairman and managing director, respectively.
The Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance or Villar SIPAG will serve as home of all their efforts and endeavors to fulfill their advocacies.
“We have been in public service, both in personal and political capacities, for decades. We have implemented numerous programs and projects that helped Filipinos better their lives. Through the Villar SIPAG, we will step up our efforts to reach out to even more people who need guidance, training, information, inspiration and skills to rise out of poverty,” said Cynthia Villar, who is now popularly called Misis Hanep Buhay because of her untiring efforts to provide livelihood opportunities to Filipinos nationwide.
She added that Villar SIPAG is more than a showcase of the Villars’ past, present and future efforts to lift Filipinos out of poverty. It will be a working hub and a proactive center. Its name alone highlights and promotes the value of hard work as a tool in overcoming poverty.
“We are serious about our goal to end poverty. It is not just a catchphrase for us, it is a serious campaign and this structure is solid evidence of that. This will be a hub of our activities and actions for our impoverished countrymen. Our goal is that this center will also be instrumental in bringing about positive changes in people’s lives and the country as well,” cited Senator Manny, who is also known as Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga, in reference to how he personally overcame poverty through hard work and persistence.
Villar SIPAG will feature, among others: Poverty Alleviation Museum, SIPAG Poverty Knowledge Management Center, Nacionalista Party Museum, reception hall, mini-theater, offices, archives and training rooms.
The SIPAG Poverty Knowledge Management Center will serve as a library or resource center to collect, preserve, and make accessible to the public an array of reading and reference materials on poverty reduction, generation of livelihood, and entrepreneurship. It aims to cater to students of all ages, scholars, policymakers, journalists, etc.
The training rooms will offer seminars, briefings and trainings on livelihood opportunities, entrepreneurial strategies, and other relevant and related topics for womenfolk, the youth, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other marginalized sectors of the society.
The Nacionalista Party Museum will exhibit memorabilia, photos, documents, among others, of the oldest political party of the country, especially its advocacy of bringing about economic independence to the Philippines.
The reception hall and mini theater will be the venue of conferences, symposia, and screening of video or performances tackling the issues of and related to poverty reduction. It will also be made available for use as venue of private gatherings.
The Villar Foundation, through its various livelihood-generation and skills training initiatives, has played an active role in poverty alleviation for 20 years already. Its barangay-based livelihood enterprises now provide income to Las Piñas and other parts of the country, where it has established more than 100 pilot projects.