POVERTY, unemployment and hunger have remained unchanged in the last nine years and are unlikely to improve next year, Social Watch Philippines said Wednesday.
Former national treasurer and SWP convener Leonor Magtolis Briones played down the impact of an economic uptick next year.
“The expected spike in gross domestic product [GDP] next year will be driven by an election budget, and will not have sustainable impact for the poor and unemployed,” she said.
University of the Philippines professor Marivic Raquiza, an SWP co-convener, added: “While we are now looking at a P3.006-trillion budget next year, we must remember that poverty, unemployment and hunger virtually remained the same for the past nine years.”
Briones said red flags in the national budget—hidden pork barrel, lump sums, and the erroneous defiition of savings to enable the executive department to juggle funds—would make it difficult to reduce poverty and hunger and generate employment.
Compared to the country’s neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines has been slow to reduce poverty, Raquiza said.
“We also failed to accomplish 19 out of 28 MDG [Millennium Development Goals] indicators. These are proofs of the lack of correlation between economic growth and poverty and inequality,” Raquiza said.
Despite the poor performance, Briones said it was not surprising that many Filipinos are optimistic about 2016.
“As people of faith, they never lose hope that things will change for the better. They have remained optimistic during wars, famine, and natural, political and social calamities. They are looking forward to elections, which will give them cash, free food, and temporary jobs. The question is, is the good news about 2016 sustainable?” Briones said.
A 7.5 percent to 8.5-percent growth next year, spurred by election spending, could create the impression of progress, Briones said.
“The question remains whether election-driven growth will be sustained for the long term and whether it will directly benefit the poor and the marginalized,” she said. “Will this be sustainable enough to lift people out of poverty?”
According to the Philippine Statistical Authority, Briones said, GDP grew by 6.0 percent during the third quarter of 2015.
However, she said, its distribution remained dismal since the agriculture sector only posted 0.4-percent growth while the major growth drivers in services and industry sectors posted 7.3 percent and 5.4-percent growth, respectively.
On the other hand, she said, PSA estimated poverty incidence among the Filipinos at 25.8 percent during the first semester of 2014.
“This will fall short of the MDG target of 17.2 percent by 2015,” Briones pointed out.
Briones said based on Social Weather Stations data, some 15.7 percent of the Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger during the third quarter of this year.
“There also seems to be a little change in unemployment and underemployment. During the third quarter of this year, PSA-National Statistical Office recorded unemployment at 6.5 percent and underemployment at 17.7 percent. A year before during the same period, unemployment stood at 6 percent while underemployment at 18.7 percent. And considering that persons at work are defined by the Labor Force Survey as those working even for an hour a week, these figures appear understated,” Briones said.
Another SWP co-convener, Isagani Serrano, said there was a need to rethink the government’s approach in adopting a framework for promoting sustainable, low-carbon development.
As SWP has been campaigning since 2006, Serrano said the national budget should be a genuine equalizer in addressing poverty and inequality and a powerful tool for improving people’s lives and shaping a resilient future.
“Social Watch along with its network of budget advocates urges the public to examine whether the 2016 budget tackles problems of poverty, hunger and unemployment. A huge budget does not certainly ensure that economic growth is enjoyed by all, especially the poor and vulnerable. It has to focus on the sectors where the poorest are and where unemployment is highest. Let us not forget the statement of Neda director general Balisacan, that economic growth is necessary but not sufficient for sustainable development,” Briones said.
Briones also challenged presidential aspirants to state publicly their stand on pork barrel and lump sum funds.