Philippine poverty incidence slid to 21.6% in 2015

CEBU, Philippines - Poverty incidence in 2015 slid to 21.6 percent, the government reported yesterday, as there were 1.4 million less poor Filipinos last year.

The 2015 poverty incidence was lower than the 25.2 percent in 2012 and 26.3 percent in 2009, within the 20-23 percent target set in the Philippine Development Plan.

National Economic and Development Authority Deputy Director General Rosemarie Edillon said in a statetment: "This has resulted from a generally low and stable inflation, improved incomes, and higher employment rates in the period.  Even so, the rate of poverty reduction between 2012 and 2015 could have been faster, if not for the major shocks, especially the intermittent typhoons and El Niño that adversely affected agricultural production, rural incomes, and food prices."

Among families, poverty incidence was also at a record-low of 16.5 percent in 2015, versus 19.7 percent in 2012 and 21 percent in 2006.

Likewise, the subsistence incidence, which measures extreme poverty, was reduced by more than half as of 2015, attaining the target of halving extreme poverty under the first Millennium Development Goal.

'A  lot  more work'

Edillon said there is still a lot more work to do to reduce inequality across regions and sectors particularly in the agriculture sector where many of the poor are found.

"The underemployment rate still tends to be steep among regions with high poverty incidence. This signals the low earning capacity of the poor and their limited access to regular and productive jobs, otherwise known as in-work poverty. The working arrangements are typically informal, temporary or casual, and low-paid, which cause them to desire additional work," the NEDA official said.

She said the government should leverage on employment as a tool to sustain he momentum of reducing poverty.

"This involves addressing both demand and supply side constraints in order to raise job-preparedness of the labor force. We need to significantly improve the business climate to create opportunities for quality, productive employment. Maintaining rapid economic growth that increases incomes of the poorest sector is a crucial factor in sustaining this momentum of reducing poverty," Edillon further noted.

Strategies to improve the business climate, boost competitiveness of the productive sectors and improve access to financing are also vital, the official added

The deputy director also said: "Easing restrictions on foreign investments will also help boost job generation. Also, reforming agricultural policies to shift the emphasis to food security rather than self-sufficiency could help reduce food prices, particularly of rice. This should be accompanied however by appropriate safety nets for farmers who may be potentially displaced."

Earlier, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Senior Advocacy Adviser Henry Schumacher said the chamber would also want to see the poverty problem in the country be addressed as the Duterte administration may be too focused on its all-out war against the illegal drug trade.

Schumacher said: "I would like to see the war on poverty."

The ECCP official said that there is still a lot of poor Filipino families that need the help of the government.

"It's (poverty) everywhere. That needs to be addressed. That is something we need to look at," he said. (FREEMAN)