Alleviating poverty a challenge for Phl

CEBU, Philippines - Despite better prospects for the country, translating robust economic growth into poverty reduction and more job opportunities remains a challenge in the Philippines. 

Director Efren Carreon of the National Economic and Development Authority in Central Visayas said good economic performance is supposed to address the high poverty incidence in the nation.

But the case of the Philippines is different. Despite reports of good ratings in terms of investment grade and economic figures, many are still living below the poverty line.

“Personally, I believe we have to double our efforts to continue working hard so that poverty incidence will be addressed (to lower it faster than one percentage point),” said Carreon in an interview.

He noted high economic growth should have meaning for the poor and jobless people particularly in the regional level.

For instance, while Central Visayas has generally exhibited decreasing poverty incidence among families, Negros Oriental consistently has the highest poverty rate in the region. The region’s poverty rate in 2012 fell by 0.3 percent to 25.7 percent from 26 percent in 2009.

Negros Oriental’s poverty incidence in 2012 soared by 15.9 percent to 43.9 from 28 percent in 2009.

On the other hand, CV’s unemployment rate was at 6.26 percent in the first quarter of this year, a little bit lower than the national figure of 7.28 percent.

The lack of job creation measures, high inflation in food, the failure to fully revive the agriculture sector, high population growth and the occurrence of natural disasters are seen to have contributed to the poverty problem.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, fishermen and farmers remain the poorest citizens among the nine basic sectors in the society.

Carreon already said that in order to significantly reduce the poverty rate in the country, the government should help the agriculture sector improve and provide assistance to the people working in the industry. 

The National Statistical Coordination Board said 4.2 million Filipinos were said to be poor in 2012 and had remained constant since 2006 despite the economic gains the country had achieved.

Growth

The director explained the continued growth of the Philippine economy is mainly driven by the increasing output of the services and manufacturing sectors.

The country’s economy reached 6.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, making it the second fastest economy in Asia in terms of gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, CV’s local economy is largely buoyed by construction, BPO, retail trade and tourism sectors, he said. The regional NEDA is targeting an eight percent growth rate for the region’s economy.   (FREEMAN)