Poverty incidence in the Philippines fell to 26.3 percent of the population in the first half of 2016 from 27.9 percent three years ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.
Results of the family income and expenditure survey also showed that subsistence incidence, or the proportion of Filipinos whose incomes are below the food threshold, also eased to 12.1 percent in the first semester of 2015 from 13.4 percent in the first half of 2012.
The National Economic and Development Authority said the 26.3-percent poverty incidence was the lowest in nine years, or since the FIES survey was first conducted in 2006.
Neda deputy director general Rosemarie Edillon said poverty incidence in the second half of 2015 was also expected to be better than in the first half.
“We note that family income in the second semester of the year is usually higher than the first semester. Thus, we expect that full-year poverty incidence will be lower than the 26.3 percent poverty incidence recorded in the first semester of 2015. The full-year estimate is between 23.6 percent and 23.8 percent. This is close to the high-end target of 20 to 23 percent for 2015,” she said.
The PSA said that in the first semester of 2015, a family of five needed at least P6,365 on the average every month to meet the family’s basic food needs and at least P9,140 on the average o meet both basic food and non-food needs.
“Importantly, we are seeing a steady decline in income inequality. Increases in income are becoming more progressive, as incomes of the bottom 30 percent of the population have been continuously rising faster than those in higher income classes,” Edillon said.
Latest data also showed that poverty incidence among families declined to 21.1 percent in the first six months of 2015 from 22.3 percent in 2012. The subsistence incidence among Filipino families also eased to 9.2 percent from ]10 percent.
Edillon said the rate of poverty reduction could have been faster if the country had not been exposed to several disasters such as the devastation left by super typhoon Yolanda.
“The rate of decline…in 2015 could have been faster, if not for the occurrences of major shocks, particularly from natural calamities like typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake and man-made disasters like the Zamboanga siege,” Edillon said.
Edillon said there was also an improvement in income distribution over the past three years. “Per capita income of the bottom 30 percent of households grew much faster. In fact, it was over 20 percent in 2012-2015 than the average income of all households, which grew by 15.3 percent,” she said.
“These numbers send a strong signal that our efforts in the past years to foster inclusive growth and good governance have translated into actual and tangible improvements in the lives of our people. The well-targeted social protection programs, such as the 4Ps proved vital in helping the poor to get back up after going through major shocks. At the same time, we know that the conditions imposed on the 4Ps beneficiaries will make for a more robust poverty reduction in the future,” Edillon said.
“Certainly, a lot more needs to be done and we cannot be content with these achievements. Despite these improved numbers, the decline in poverty could have been more. The increase in income was still not enough to offset the increase in food prices, particularly those that are being consumed more by the poor. In particular, the price of rice, which declined in 2015 relative to its 2014 levels, has remained high; actually almost 20 percent higher than its price in 2012,” she said.