The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday said President Marcos is determined to reduce the poverty rate to 9 percent by the time he leaves office in 2028.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan issued this statement after the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released its latest survey that showed that 48 percent or 13.2 million Filipino families consider themselves to be poor.
“We note that the SWS September survey was conducted after a series of typhoons hit the country, which also affected food prices and directly [affected] families who lacked the means to cope with the increase in prices,” Balisacan said.
“As we noted earlier, poverty measures based on respondents’ perceptions are sensitive to inflation, particularly for essential commodities. Food inflation in September was higher than in June this year due to the supply disruptions,” he added.
The NEDA chief said the government is taking various steps to promptly assist those in need.
These measures include the introduction of the food stamp program, elimination of pass-through fees for goods transportation vehicles, and the provision of cash aid through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance program.
He added that the administration is prioritizing policies and programs aimed at generating more and higher-quality jobs, as this is the most effective way to reduce poverty.
“This will involve expanding our markets, improving our infrastructure, and attracting more strategic investments, while also preparing the workforce with the necessary skills for the jobs that will be created,” Balisacan said.
The government has taken steps to expedite these endeavors, including endorsing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, creating green lanes for strategic investments, and simplifying project approval procedures.
Moreover, the government is actively working on initiatives to modernize agriculture, boost productivity, and strengthen connections to markets, he said.
“Given these strategies and our whole-of-society approach, we are confident that we can still reduce poverty incidence among Filipinos to 9 percent by 2028,” Balisacan said.
In the latest SWS survey, nearly half or 48 percent of Filipino families considered themselves poor in September, up from 45 percent in June.
The SWS estimated that the number of self-rated poor families was 13.2 million as of September, an increase of about 700,000 families from June.
The SWS survey, conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, also revealed that 27 percent of Filipinos viewed themselves as “borderline” cases.
The three-point rise in the nationwide self-rated poor figure between June and September 2023 was due to increases in all areas, with Mindanao recording the highest increase in families who rated themselves poor at 71 percent, which is a seven-point increase from the previous 54 percent.
Self-rated poor families in Balance Luzon also jumped to 39 percent from 35 percent, while self-rated poor families in Metro Manila also climbed to 38 percent from 35 percent.
Self-rated poor families in the Visayas increased to 59 percent from 57 percent.
The SWS said almost 2 million families consider themselves to be newly poor, meaning they did not see themselves as poor at least five years ago.
“Of the estimated 13.2 million self-rated poor families in September 2023, 1.8 million were newly poor, 1.7 million were usually poor, and 9.7 million were always poor,” said the SWS.