The Philippines is poised to again break a world record today as government expects millions of Filipinos to participate in various projects to help the poor as part of a nationwide ceremony to mark this year’s National Week for Overcoming Extreme Poverty (NWOEP), Malacañang has announced.

Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) said the government aims to rally more than 35 million Filipinos in a nationwide campaign to increase public awareness of the plight of Filipino poor and raise support behind the Arroyo administration’s poverty reduction programs.

“We are very confident that we will be able to break the record of 35.2 million participants we had set during last year’s commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty as we doubled our efforts in the organization and planning of this year’s NWOEP,” Panganiban said.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was first celebrated in Paris, France in 1987, when 100,000 people came together to honor the victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear. It is now celebrated on October 17 by all UN member countries.

President Arroyo had established the NWOEP in 2004 when she signed Proclamation No. 717 in 2004, which expanded the Philippine’s annual observance of the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty to a weeklong period extending from October 17 to 23 each year.

Panganiban said NAPC will lead around 30 government agencies and representatives from the country’s 14 poorest and most vulnerable sectors in a special wreath-laying ceremony be held at the Rizal Park in Manila to commence this year’s NWOEP.

“Experts estimate that a little more than 10% of the world’s population lives on $1 a day while more than 80% of the world’s population lives in countries where the gap between rich and poor is growing,” Panganiban said.