Poverty incidence fell to 24.9% in mid-2013

The number of poor Filipinos fell in the first half of last year as the country’s economy surged, lifting millions of households above the government’s poverty line.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday reported that one in four or 24.9 percent of Filipinos were still considered poor, based on their average income in the first semester of 2013. This was down from 27.9 percent of Filipinos below the poverty line in the same period the year before.

“The remarkable improvement in the poverty incidence is evidence that the Philippines’ development strategies are heading in the direction of inclusive growth,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said, reacting to the report.

This brings the Philippines close to its latest goal of reducing poverty incidence to between 20 and 23 percent by next year, although this target is worse than the previous Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitment to bring it down to 16.6 percent.

For the first time in the country’s history, the number of people considered “extremely poor” also dropped to a single-digit rate of 7.7 percent from 10.7 percent. Apart from the reduction in the number of poor people, the number of households below the poverty line also dipped to 19.1 percent from 22.3 percent.

The report also marked the start of more frequent reports on the poverty level in the country. The government, through the PSA, now uses the Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (Apis), which replaced the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted every three years. The better monitoring of poverty data is expected to help the government tweak its policies to more effectively help the poor.

Poor families also saw their income levels improve at the end of the first half of 2013. Per capita family income for the first, second and third deciles posted growth rates of 12.3 percent, 8.4 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.

Stable consumer prices, coupled with higher incomes, played a key role in reducing the ranks of the poor, Balisacan said.

He likewise attributed the progress to the continued implementation and enhancement of the government’s social programs that helped improve the welfare of a greater number of poor through increases in income. Among them is the broader implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), or Pantawid Pamilya Program, in terms of both coverage and scope.