A Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) survey said there were fewer Filipinos living in poverty or those whose incomes were insufficient to buy minimum basic food and non-food needs in 2023 compared to two years earlier.
Preliminary results of the PSA Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) also showed that there were 17.54 million poor Filipinos in 2023, translating to a poverty incidence of 15.5%.
This is lower than the 19.99 million poor Filipinos in 2021 when the poverty incidence was 18.1%, and the 17.67 million in 2018, when the poverty incidence rate was 16.7%, the PSA said.
The agency also attributed the decline to the increase in the mean per capita income, which grew by 17.9% to P85,290, faster than the increase in poverty threshold, which climbed by 15.3% to P33,296.
The biggest increase in the mean per capita income was seen in the first decile class, which climbed 25.3% to P24,954. This was followed by the second decile class, which grew 22.9% to P36,716, and the third decile class, which grew by 22.2% to P45,596.
In terms of families, there were 3.00 million poor families in 2023, equivalent to a poverty incidence rate of 10.9%. This compares with the 3.50 families in 2021 with a poverty incidence rate of 13.2%, and 17.67 families in 2018 with a poverty incidence rate of 16.7%.
A survey conducted by OCTA Research found that 42% or about 11 million Filipino families considered themselves poor in the first quarter, down from 11.9 million families in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In a separate statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the decline in poverty incidence last year marked significant progress toward the government’s goal of reducing poverty to a single-digit level by 2028.
“These encouraging figures underscore our unwavering commitment to implement effective policies and initiatives that uplift the lives of our countrymen. As we welcome news of our progress, we remain steadfast in our efforts to ensure that our economic gains are truly felt by all Filipinos, rich and poor alike,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
The number of food-poor families decreased to 740,000 in 2023 from 1.04 million families in 2021.
In terms of population, the number of food-poor Filipinos also saw a significant decline, dropping from 6.55 million in 2021 to 4.84 million in 2023.
The country’s average per capita income increased by 17.9 percent between 2021 and 2023, outpacing the 15.3 percent rise in the annual per capita poverty threshold during the same period.
“But what is perhaps most encouraging to see is that mean per capita incomes for the poorest Filipinos —those belonging to the bottom deciles— grew quite fast, faster than those in the top decile classes and faster than the rate at which the poverty threshold grew. In other words, economic growth was progressive,” he added.
Balisacan assured that food security would continue to be the government’s top priority.
“At the same time, we continue to work on the creation of more and higher-quality jobs and human capital development to enhance Filipinos’ income-earning abilities. We must also strengthen our social safety nets by harnessing digital technologies so that the poor and vulnerable are partially shielded from economic shocks,” he added.
Balisacan said that with the right policies in place and the further acceleration of government programs, a single-digit poverty rate by 2028 is achievable.
Sought for comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said the further reopening of the Philippine economy supported improvements in economic and business conditions that generated more jobs, livelihood, and other opportunities, thereby lifting more people out of poverty.
Ricafort said the government could achieve its 2028 poverty rate target “if more people are lifted from poverty in the agricultural sector, which employs more than 20% of all workers in the country.”
This could be achieved by further boosting productivity and reducing costs with the increased use of the best global technology, he said.
“These interventions would help boost incomes of farmers and lift more people from poverty especially in the rural areas, leading to more inclusive economic growth and development that fundamentally reduce further the overall poverty rate,” he added.
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