People queue for free food from a community pantry amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
The proportion of poor Filipinos declined in the first half of 2023, as the Philippines emerged from a pandemic that wiped out years of gains in reducing poverty in the country.
A nationwide survey of 171,588 families showed there were 25.24 million poor Filipinos in the first half of 2023, lower than the 26.14 million recorded in the same period in 2021, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Friday.
That translated to a poverty rate among the country’s population of 22.4% in the first semester of 2023, lower than the 23.7% rate in the comparable period in 2021.
“The decision to fully open the economy has allowed us to recover from the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and government response,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
On average, a family of five would need at least P13,797 per month to meet their basic needs in the first half, data showed.
Meanwhile, 9.79 million Filipinos said their income was not enough to buy even the basic foods they need, equivalent to a subsistence incidence of 8.7 percent, down from 9.9 percent recorded in the previous survey.