MANILA, July 19 — The government is continuously working towards reducing poverty to make growth more inclusive in the country.
Wilma Guillen, Asst. National Statistician at the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), said poverty incidence declined to 21.6 percent in 2015 from 26.6 percent in 2006.
Guillen cited a study indicating that the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program has helped alleviate poverty in the country.
The CCT program, called the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, provides conditional cash grants to indigent families who have kids ages 14 years old and below.
“(Those considered) poor graduated from poor to non-poor. Then economic growth actually has been increasing our national income for the country, the GDP (gross domestic product) has been increasing through the years. That contributed (to poverty reduction),” she said in a forum.
Carlyndon Santos, technical officer of National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), said the Commission launched this week the administration’s core anti-poverty agenda, Kilos Sambayanan.
Based on a multi-dimensional view of poverty and a universal rights-based approach to poverty eradication, NAPC has identified food and agrarian reform, water, shelter, education, healthcare, work, social protection, healthy environment, peace and participation as the 10 basic needs of the poor.
Santos said NAPC will map out a policy paper on each basic need of the poor.
He added they target to complete the anti-poverty framework this month or August.
Santos further said the anti-poverty framework is based on the government’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
Under the new PDP 2017 to 2022, overall poverty rate is targeted to decline from 21.6 percent in 2015 to 14 percent by 2022. (Leslie D. Venzon/PNA)
