Gov’t fears spike in poverty rate

Fearing a spike in the country’s poverty rate due to the devastation wreaked by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” the government is now focusing its efforts to provide relief and livelihood opportunities to people affected by the calamity.

The National Economic and Development Authority even went so far as to set a goal to help those whose lives had been ruined by the calamity and lift them out of poverty within a year.

“The intention is for the [calamity victims’] fall into poverty to be temporary,” said Arsenio Balisacan, director general of the Neda. “The strategy is to immediately provide the needed intervention so that economic activity … would [resume] as quickly as possible.”

In a press conference last week, Balisacan said the government’s economic team came up with a P38.8-billion immediate relief and recovery plan for the calamity-stricken areas. The objective of the plan is to achieve “normalcy” in these areas as soon as possible.

Apart from building shelter for victims and restoring public health and education facilities, the plan also calls for the implementation of livelihood activities that will help affected families regain their income streams, Balisacan said.

In particular, the government will undertake a cash-for-work program, under which people from affected areas will be employed in reconstruction activities while they generate income.

Also, Balisacan said, the government would give affected farmers the assistance they need to help them get back to work.

The government will coordinate with private business groups to implement the livelihood activities.

According to Emmanuel Esguerra, deputy director general at the Neda, the National Competitiveness Council and local business chambers are drawing up an economic recovery plan for the affected areas.

Esguerra said business activities should resume so that jobs could be recreated.

“The goal is to replace whatever income is lost and create employment opportunities,” he said.

Critics warned of an even more serious poverty problem because of the delays in government intervention.

They also claimed that the government had been too slow in carrying out relief operations in the affected areas.

Even prior to the onslaught of Yolanda in November, the country had been struggling to reduce its poverty incidence.

Although the Philippines has become one of the fastest growing Asian economies, its poverty rate remained one of the highest in the region at 27.9 percent (as of the first semester of 2012). Michelle V. Remo