It is said that the “poverty incidence” or part of the Filipino population that does not have enough income to meet the basic needs of food etc. is at 22.4%.
According to the preliminary 2023 first semester official poverty statistics of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) this Friday, 25.24 million Filipinos are equal to that percentage.
This is lower compared to the 23.7% poverty rate during the same period in 2021, something equivalent to 26.14 million living “below the poverty line.”
“On average, a family of five members will need at least PhP13,797 per month to meet their minimum basic food and non-food needs in the first semester of 2023,” PSA said.
“On the other hand, subsistence incidence among Filipinos or the proportion of Filipinos whose income is not enough to buy even the basic food needs was registered at 8.7 percent or about 9.79 million Filipinos in the first semester of 2023.”
The monthly food threshold of a family with five members during the same period is estimated at P9,550.
If we look at families and not just the population, the first semester 2023 poverty incidence is 16.4%. That is equivalent to 4.51 million poor families.
“Meanwhile, the subsistence incidence among families was recorded at 5.9 percent or about 1.62 million food poor families in the first semester of 2023,” PSA added.
PSA: 25.24-M Pinoys do not earn enough for basic food, non-food needs
This report came out a day after the Social Weather Stations (SWS) announced that joblessness in the country dropped to 16.9% in September, a drop from 22.8% in June.
This was 5.8 points below the 22.8% in June 2023 and the lowest since the 15.7% in December 2017.
The estimated number of jobless people was 7.9 million in September 2023 and 10.3 million in June 2023.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan stated the Marcos government aimed to reduce poverty to below 10 percent.
“The Marcos Administration remains focused on its priority to substantially reduce poverty to a single-digit level,” Balisacan said in a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
“With our priorities in check, we remain committed to achieving our ‘AmBisyon of a matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay para sa lahat,’ where no one is poor and no Filipino is left behind,” he added.
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