ORGANIZED labor described as “mind boggling” and “unrealistic” the daily food threshold of P64 per person presented by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (N1) on Thursday questioned NEDA’s claim during a congressional hearing that the amount is sufficient for a typical Filipino family of five to avoid being classified as “food poor.”
“We are alarmed. Despite the millions of pesos allotted for the collection of data, what is being provided to us are old figures that are no longer reflective to the present situation,” said N1 Chairman Sonny Matula in Filipino.
N1 Chairman Sonny Matula. Photo by: J. Gerard Seguia
“This is dangerous as it underestimates the true cost of living in the Philippines,” Matula said.
The NEDA figure is far lower than that from the Ateneo Policy Center, which showed that a typical family would need a daily budget of about P693.30 just to afford the main ingredients required to eat the Pinggang Pinoy, the government’s cheapest healthy plate.
The group called for the immediate implementation of the legislated P150 wage increase. The wage hike is critical to providing Filipino workers with a fighting chance to afford basic necessities, particularly food, and to escape the poverty trap that low wages have created, it said.
The House of Representatives must pass a counterpart bill to the Senate’s already approved P100 wage hike measure. Matula also proposed the creation of a P100-billion stimulus fund to generate more jobs and stimulate economic growth over the next 10 years.
The fund would provide support to small businesses and boost the local economy, in the process enhancing the purchasing power of workers, stimulating consumption and economic activity, he said.
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