"The reduction in poverty incidence is most welcome."
"The reduction in poverty incidence is most welcome."
As we near the end of 2019, the good news that greeted us recently was the decline in poverty incidence in the country last year.
The Philippine Statistics Authority, using the government-set poverty threshold of P10,727 for a family of five, reported that the poverty rate declined from the updated 23.3-percent figure in 2015 (based on 2012 prices) to 16.6 percent in 2018. The numbers translate to 17.6 million poor Filipinos as of 2018, lower than 23.5 million in 2015. This also means that now, 166 out of every 1,000 Filipinos belong to poor families whose incomes are not enough for basic needs.
Given this, the government can lift more people out of poverty by 2022 than previously targeted, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia. He cited a poverty reduction figure of 10 to 12 percent by 2022 versus the original goal of 14 percent.
For the National Economic and Development Authority, with 5.9- million Filipinos lifted out of poverty between 2015 and 2018 and a poverty reduction rate of 2.23 percentage points per year, "we are not only on track to meet our PDP [Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022] target. We are also likely to meet the sustainable development goal or SDG target of eradicating extreme poverty, as defined by the international poverty line, and cutting by half the proportion of the population living below the national poverty line by 2030.”
The reduction in poverty incidence is most welcome, considering that headline inflation averaged at a 10-year high of 5.2 percent in 2018 due to new or higher excise taxes slapped on consumption under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), skyrocketing global oil prices and domestic food supply bottlenecks, especially of rice. Many of the programs of spending would not have been affordable in earlier periods.
Another salutary effect of comprehensive tax reform is that it has allowed the government to finance various economic development programs.
The PSA reported that the income of the poorest 30-percent households really increased much faster than the increase in the poverty threshold as this was higher at over 30 percent in the last three years.
Employment generation has also increased, with the unemployment rate dropping to a 14-year low in October.
The government’s conditional and unconditional cash grants to poor families as well as workers adversely affected by higher excise taxes under the TRAIN Law provided additional income to the poorest of the poor.
Transfers, which include cash transfers from the government received by households from the bottom three deciles, increased by 34.8 percent, 32.8 percent, and 25.0 percent respectively, Neda said.
Economist Gerardo Sicat attributes the gains made in poverty reduction to "the sustained economic growth of the economy from year-to-year for almost 15 years now…The best way out of poverty is a growing economy. The size of the cake increases so that there is something additional to be shared across all groups in society."
Other factors that have contributed to reduced poverty levels are dollar remittances from overseas Filipino workers to their families back home;, a growing tourism sector, and the rise in government spending on infrastructure, particularly the Build, Build, Build program.
Our hope is that the gains made so far in economic development can be sustained and consequent poverty reduction would be pursued with even greater vigor by succeeding administrations.
Wake-up call
While we're glad that government is making significant inroads in fighting poverty, we're really concerned over the decline in the quality of our basic education.
Based on the 2018 survey results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Philippines has the lowest score in reading comprehension as it garnered a score of 340—way below the average score in reading comprehension of all participating countries, which is 487.
The same survey results showed that the Philippines scored 353 in mathematics and 357 in science—both also below the average score of all participating countries.
Following the release of the PISA results, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it “recognizes the urgency of addressing issues and gaps in attaining quality basic education.”
Education Secretary Leonor Briones is on the right track in ordering a review of the country’s basic education curriculum, especially whether English is being taught effectively.
If our information is accurate, DepEd will push “aggressive reforms” in four main areas: updating the K-12 curriculum; improving the physical facilities of schools, including laboratories and computers; training teachers and school heads; getting the involvement of local governments, parents and alumni associations, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and other partners.
These are steps in the right direction. But the government should pursue these with the requisite political will and ample financial resources if we really want to improve the quality of our basic education.
ernhil@yahoo.com