By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
The decline in poverty incidence is a testament to the efforts of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration in giving Filipinos a more comfortable life, Malacañang said Friday.
In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro expressed elation over the Social Weather Stations (SWS) April 23 to 28 survey which showed that 42% of Filipinos no longer consider themselves poor, higher than the 32% logged on April 1 to 15.
The SWS also noted a drop in self-rated poverty to 50% from 55%.
“Batid na ang epekto ng pagpapababa ng poverty incidence sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. at ito po ay nakikita na. Ayon ito sa April 23 to 28 self-rate poverty survey na inilabas ng Social Weather Stations or SWS,” Castro said.
The President believes the government was able to lift more Filipinos out of poverty because of food availability and affordability, education, and social welfare, Castro said.
Marcos also expressed confidence that poverty reduction will continue through other government initiatives aimed at addressing bottleneck issues, including those that affect small-scale businesses, public utilities, transportation services, and safety in the streets.
Malacañang also welcomed the significant decrease in the number of Filipino families rating themselves as borderline (a line dividing poor and not poor), which was at a new record low of 8% that surpassed the previous low of 11% in December 2024.
“Patuloy lang ang administrasyon sa pagtatrabaho upang pagaanin ang pasanin ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino. Dahil sa Bagong Pilipinas, aksyon ang solusyon,” Castro said.
