Lifting 8 million Filipinos out of poverty by 2028 doable, claims DOF

August 17, 2024 , 08:55 PM

By Gabriel Kim Leal

(August 17, 2024) – The Department of Finance (DOF) on Saturday maintained that lifting eight million Filipinos out of poverty by the end of the term of Pres. Bongbong Marcos Jr. in 2028 is “doable.”

In a media forum, DOF undersecretary Domini Velasquez touted that the Philippines is on track to become an “upper middle-income country” by next year.

“Mag-i-increase ang mga aalisin natin sa kahirapan. Mga kailangan natin, eight million (people) alisin by 2028. Doable naman ‘yon,” said Velasquez.

She did not specify metrics or detailed strategies on how the ambitious target would be met.

But she did note positive economic indicators, with the country’s gross domestic product growing by 6.3% in the second quarter, up from 5.8% in the previous quarter.

Unemployment also dropped to 3.1%, an improvement from the 5.1% rate during the pre-pandemic period, according to the DOF.

“Dapat araw-araw may nakakatikim na parang nag-i-improve ‘yung buhay natin, ‘di ba?” added Velasquez.

Progressive groups have lamented that despite the government’s rosy pronouncements about the economy, many Filipinos are still crippled by hardships.

Self-reported poverty has increased during Marcos’ presidency, with 58% of Filipino families or around 16 million households rating themselves as poor, according to Social Weather Stations last June. This was the highest level of self-rated poverty since 2008.

Last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority said approximately 17.54 million Filipinos were living in poverty. Although this was a slight improvement from 19.9 million in 2021.

On Saturday, independent think tank IBON Foundation rebuked the government for its “ridiculous” poverty threshold of P63 per meal a day and the “unrealistic” poverty line of P91.

“The flawed statistics are used to hide how poverty is growing while the president and his cronies and oligarch allies are getting richer,” said IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa in a statement.

Inflation, meanwhile, remains the topmost concern for Filipinos, as reported by Pulse Asia last June.

Marcos has repeatedly touted his Philippine Development Plan, which is aimed at driving economic and social progress.

“The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is on track to bring down the poverty rate to single digits by 2028,” claimed Velasquez.

(PM)

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