Poverty incidence in the Philippines fell to 22.4 percent of the population in the first half of 2023 from 23.7 percent in the same period in 2021, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said this meant there were 895,260 fewer poor Filipinos over the past two years.
Poverty rate, however, was still higher than the government’s target of 9 percent within the term of the President.
“When President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. began his term, we aspired for an ambitious goal of reducing poverty incidence to a single-digit level by 2028,” Balisacan said.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that poverty incidence among families declined to 16.4 percent in the first semester of 2023 from 18.0 percent in the same period of 2021. This translated into 230,000 households escaping poverty.
Across the country, poverty incidence decreased in 15 of the 17 regions from 2021 to 2023, declining significantly in the National Capital Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, SOCCSKSARGEN and Caraga.
“While poverty incidence decreased in BARMM, it remains the highest in the country. On the other hand, the Davao Region experienced a significant increase in poverty incidence due to the region’s vulnerability to natural hazards, such as flooding and earthquakes,” NEDA said.
“The decision to fully open the economy and lift all COVID-19 restrictions in the country starting in 2022 has allowed us to recover from the unprecedented, combined impact of the pandemic and the government’s policy responses to the crisis,” Balisacan said.
He said that in the first three quarters of 2023, the Philippines demonstrated remarkable resilience amid all challenges, with the gross domestic product growth rate averaging 5.5 percent, placing the country among the best-performing economies in Asia.
The most recent labor force statistics showed continued improvement in labor market conditions, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.2 percent in October 2023 from 4.5 percent in October 2022 and the underemployment rate to 11.7 percent from 14.2 percent in the same period.
“Moreover, our efforts to tame inflation and manage its effects have yielded significant results. From a high of 8.7 percent in January, inflation dropped to a 20-month low of 4.1 percent in November this year. For the same period, inflation for the bottom 30 percent of households declined from 9.7 percent to 4.9 percent. Government interventions, such as the Targeted Cash Transfer Program, fuel subsidy, one-time rice allowance, and the Libreng Sakay Program, helped mitigate the adverse effects of inflation on poor households,” he said.
Balisacan said the high inflation in the first semester of 2023 partially offset the positive effect of income growth on poverty. We
“We note that per capita income among those in the first income decile (the poorest 10 percent of our population) increased by 21.4 percent, and those in the second and third deciles increased by 19.4 and 18.3 percent, respectively. Had the inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent been at 4 percent in 2021 and another 4 percent in 2022, the cumulative increase in poverty threshold would be around 8.2 percent instead of 14.2 percent. Assuming the same increase in income, poverty incidence among the population would have been about 16 percent instead of the observed 22.4 percent,” he said.
Balisacan said the government would ensure the effective implementation of various initiatives and interventions in the social sector to reduce poverty at both the national and regional levels.
These include the implementation of the new Social Protection Floor that institutionalizes basic social security guarantees, the passage of the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act and the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program as well as the establishment of the Walang Gutom 2027 Food Stamp Program.
“The Marcos administration remains focused on its priority to substantially reduce poverty to a single-digit level,” he said.
He said the government would continue to prioritize creating high-quality and high-paying jobs to address the rising issue of vulnerable employment. To achieve the goal, the government will continue to focus on attracting job-generating investments from the private sector, significantly improving human capital and scaling up social and physical infrastructure to improve our people’s employment prospects, he said.
“We will ensure that our macroeconomic fundamentals are sound, enabling us to sustain growth in the medium and long term,” he said.
Balisacan said despite numerous economic challenges, government efforts to improve the fiscal situation led to a 9.4-percent increase in revenue collection. The latest deficit-to-GDP and debt-to-GDP ratios decreased to 5.7 percent and 60.2 percent in September 2023, respectively, from 6.5 percent and 63.6 percent in September 2022.
“These allow us to expand our fiscal space and free up resources for much-needed services, especially for developing and protecting our people’s capabilities,” he said.
Balisacan said the government would continue facilitating policy initiatives to create an enabling environment for investments, trade and innovation.