MANILA — Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Thursday said he was ready to work with disbarred lawyer Larry Gadon who was recently appointed as Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation.

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"Excited akong makipagtrabaho sa bawat mamamayan, bawat indibidwal, sa bawat grupo na gustong sumama sa laban para matapos ang kagutuman at kahirapan," Gatchalian at the sidelines of his agency's Partnership Forum.

"Para sa 'kin kasi, ang laban sa kahirapan ay napakalaking laban. Kailangan natin ang lahat ng Pilipino, lahat ng gustong mag-ambag," he added.

(I am excited to work with every citizen, individual, group that wants to join the fight against hunger and poverty. For me, the fight against poverty is huge. We need every Filipino who wants to contribute.)

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Gatchalian said he would look into how to integrate and streamline Gadon's planned "Batang Busog, Malusog" feeding program with the DSWD's core anti-poverty efforts.

Gadon earlier said he would "synchronize and supervise" existing anti-poverty programs "and create a better way of approaching this problem [of poverty]."

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