The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released their latest data on the poverty rate of the country in the first half of 2021 and showed an increase from 21.1% in 2018 to 23.7% in the same period of 2021.
According to the PSA, the poverty incidence percentage means that 26.14 million Filipinos are living below the poverty threshold in the first semester of the year.
At a press conference, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said that the lockdowns and stricter quarantines due to COVID-19 have affected the poverty incidence.
“Regions with stricter quarantines tended to see larger increases in poverty compared to regions under less stringent quarantines. For instance, the poverty incidence in Regions III, IV-A, and VII increased by over four percentage points. The poverty incidence in the National Capital Region also increased by around 1.2 percentage points,” Chua said.
“On the other hand, five regions with lesser quarantine restrictions recorded lower poverty. These are BARMM, and Regions VIII, IX, XI, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. BARMM saw the largest poverty reduction of 17.4 percentage points, also reflecting the progress made on the peace process,” he added.
In the bureau’s report, a family of five needs P12,084 per month to meet their minimum basic food and non-food needs. This is 14.7% higher compared to the monthly average amount of P10,532 in the first half of 2018.
Among the basic needs included food, clothing, housing, potable water, health, transport, communication, miscellaneous for personal care, and education.
“These families have incomes that are not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs during the first half of the year,” the PSA report said.
National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa clarified that the monthly average only covers the basic food and non-food needs of a family.
“Pag mababa ‘yung income sa poverty threshold, ang classification nila ay poor siya. Kapag tumaas naman, non-poor. Na-cover niya ang food and non-food needs pero baka mayroon pang ibang kailangan [ang pamilya],” she said.
Chua said the government still retains its target to bring down the poverty incidence rate between 15.5-17.5% this year.
“There’s a big difference typically in the first half and the second half [of the year]. We will have to wait for a full year to determine [poverty incidence]. We are sticking to the target, it might be slightly better if we improve in recovery,” said Chua. -Report from Naomi Tiburcio/CC-rir
