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A homeless family takes shelter from heavy rains inside their makeshift home in Quezon City on Thursday. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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Homeless family

Jekki Pascual

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17237247253181723724742852.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A homeless family takes shelter from heavy rains inside their makeshift home in Quezon City. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file"/>A homeless family takes shelter from heavy rains inside their makeshift home in Quezon City. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file</div>MANILA — The number of poor Filipinos fell in the 2023, according to the Full Year Official Poverty Statistics by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).From 19.90 million in 2021, it went down to 17.54 million in 2023. This brings the poverty incidence to 15.5 percent in 2023 from 18.1 percent in 2021.The government has vowed to bring down the poverty level to single-digit levels before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term ends.National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Usec. Claire Dennis Mapa attributed the drop in the number of poor Filipinos to rising wages and rise in employment rate due to a growing economy. The faster rise of wages, he said, beats the inflation rate.“Mas mataas ang kita, mas mabilis ang taas ng kita doon sa mga pamilya sa bottom decile,” Mapa said.(Income grew and it grew faster for those at the bottom decile.)To be considered poor, one must be below the country’s poverty threshold. For 2023, the average poverty threshold was P13,873 per month for a family of 5. This means families above the amount are not considered poor. The amount is the budget for both food and non-food items.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TTrfomLwvY4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>For the food-poor threshold alone, the average is P9,581 per month for a family of 5. This translates to P64 daily food budget per person when P9,581 is divided by 30 days and divided by 5 persons. Those earning higher than the threshold are not considered food poor.The peasant group Amihan, however, said the data does not reflect the true state of the country. The group’s Secretary General Cathy Estavillo said that many Filipinos remain poor because of high prices of food.“Hindi ramdam talaga ng malawak na bilang ng mga magsasaka, malawak na bilang ng mga Pilipino.”(The growth in the economy] is not felt by majority of farmers and majority of Filipinos.)The group also criticized government’s P64 food budget per person per day threshold. National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told senators a person with a higher budget than P64 for food is not considered food poor.This prompted criticisms from various groups. Estavillo asserted that the food poor threshold of P64 is too low and is not sufficient for a decent and nutritious meal. That amount equates to just P21 per meal per person per day. She said the threshold must be increased to reflect the real state of the country.“Nakapagtataka, sabi nga natin saang lupalop nila nakuha yung datos… Sa isang pamilya may 5 myembro ay kailangan talaga niya ng P572-P580 per day para makakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw,” she said.(I wonder where they got their data. For a family of 5, they need around P572-580 per day for food three times a day.)Estavillo urged government officials to go to the market and buy P64 worth of food for the day. She now hopes for a more accurate data and programs to lift more people out of poverty.The PSA meanwhile added that out of 18 regions, 11 recorded statistically significant decreases in poverty incidence among families. Caraga showed improvement at 14.9 percent or a decrease of 11 percentage points.PSA and NEDA said they will review the poverty threshold information next year to better reflect the state of the country.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VjAqzH5EO1Q?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

To be considered poor, one must be below the country’s poverty threshold. For 2023, the average poverty threshold was P13,873 per month for a family of 5.

To be considered poor, one must be below the country’s poverty threshold. For 2023, the average poverty threshold was P13,873 per month for a family of 5.

Fewer poor Filipinos in 2023, says PSA

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Fewer poor Filipinos in 2023, says PSA

Jekki Pascual,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 15, 2024 08:26 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 15, 2024 08:50 PM PHT

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PSA

Philippine Statistics Authority

NEDA

National Economic and Development Authority

poverty

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