Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday reported that there were fewer Filipinos in 2015 than in 2012, an improvement officials said was brought about by low prices, better incomes and more jobs.
In its poverty report, PSA said “one out of five Filipinos was poor in 2015.” The poverty statistics are updated every three years.
PSA also said a family of five needs around PhP6,329 per month to meet minimum basic food needs.
Based on this standard, around 1.3 million families did not have sufficient income to meet basic food needs.
“This means that on average, an additional monthly income of PhP2,230 is needed by a poor family with five members in order to move out of poverty in 2015,” the agency said.
Decrease in poverty incidence
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) cited three factors for the improved poverty numbers.
“This has resulted in generally low and stable inflation, improved incomes, and higher employment rates in the period,” NEDA Director Reynaldo Cancio noted.
NEDA said lower poverty incidence was observed across all regions, lessening the gaps between poor and rich areas.
“Improved poverty reduction indicates that goal to eradicate poverty in the Philippines is very possible and highly achievable,” Cancio said.
The country’s poverty incidence for 2015 declined significantly to 21.6 percent, from 25.2 percent in 2012. The biggest drop was in Davao Region (Region 11) and Soccscksargen (Region 12).
But NEDA said underemployment remains high among regions with high poverty incidence.
“We in government should leverage on employment as a tool for sustaining the momentum of reducing poverty,” Cancio said.
NEDA further said rural and regional development are key factors to significantly reduce poverty by the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in 2022.
