Preliminary results of the family income and expenditure survey for 2021 released by the Philippine Statistics Authority early this week showed that the poverty rate worsened to 18.8 percent from 16.7 percent in 2018.
This translates to 19.9 million Filipinos now living below the poverty line, or those making less than P12,030 a month for a family of five. In 2018, the last time the survey was held, there were 17.67 million Filipinos living below the poverty threshold of P10,481 a month. The poverty rate was worse in 2015 at 23.5 percent, equivalent to 23.68 million Filipinos.
The poverty threshold is the minimum income needed to meet the basic food and nonfood needs such as clothing, fuel, light and water, housing, transportation and communication, health and education expenses.
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including income and employment losses, caused the poverty incidence to rise. Restrictions on mobility and low earning capacity of poor households due to limited access to regular and productive jobs made the lives of Filipinos difficult,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, who also heads the National Economic and Development Authority.
“We do know that we have a tough road ahead, but we are already prepared to face these challenges head-on. Our poverty reduction efforts will focus on three main areas: full reopening of the economy; more investments in human capital, social development and social protection; and transformation of the production sectors to generate more and quality jobs and competitive products,” Balisacan added.
The devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and our government’s response is still being felt throughout society. The monumental challenge of steering the country to a better place now rests on the current batch of government officials who cannot focus on the mistakes and excuses of the past as they urgently chart a better future for the millions of Filipinos who somehow slipped into the poverty threshold because of the events and circumstances of the past couple of years.*
