Govt ‘putting in place long-term solutions’ to address poverty — Palace
THE government is doing what it can to decrease poverty after a Social Weather Systems (SWS) survey released on Saturday revealed that more Filipinos consider themselves poor.
The poll from June 27 to 30 among 1,200 adults nationwide showed that 48 percent or 11.1 million Filipino families deemed themselves to be in this situation.
“We take seriously the Social Weather Stations (SWS) June 2018 survey which shows an increase in the incidence of families who consider themselves as poor, as well as families rating themselves as food-poor,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque, Jr. said in a statement.
Roque said that families “felt the pinch of higher food prices” after the June inflation numbers were announced.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on July 5 that the June inflation of the country hit 5.2-percent, 0.6-percent higher than May’s figure, which was also the highest for the Duterte administration.
“We are putting in place long-term solutions to significantly reduce inflation and help poor Filipino families, such as pushing for rice tariffication as rice accounts for around 20 percent of the total consumption of the poor and implementing our Build, Build, Build Program to lower the transport cost of food and goods,” Roque added.
The June survey showed a six-point increase from March 2018 when 42 percent, or an estimated 9.8 million families, rated themselves poor.
The SWS said the six-point increase was a result of the 18-point self-rated poverty increase in Mindanao, and 13-point increases in both the Visayas and Metro Manila.
Roque said it was worth mentioning that the self-rated poverty dropped in Balance Luzon, where Region 3 or the “rice basket” of the Philippines was located.
“The timing of the survey, June 27-30, must also be considered. Government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development had distributed Unconditional Cash Transfers to around 3.8 million of the 10 million total beneficiaries at the time of the survey, with distribution ramping up quickly subsequently, while the Department of Transportation’s Pantawid Pasada Program for jeepney operators with valid franchises started this July,” Roque said. RALPH VILLANUEVA
The post Govt ‘putting in place long-term solutions’ to address poverty — Palace appeared first on The Manila Times Online.