POVERTY

Poverty has always remained a critical social problem that calls to be addressed. Philippines' latest poverty line for 2014 marks a per capita income of 100,534 pesos a year.^[1] According to the data from the National Statistical Coordination Board, more than one-quarter of the population fell below the poverty line the first semester of 2014, an approximate 78 per cent increase since 2013.^[2]

The increase in poverty has been rapid and uneven,compared to broadly similar numbers in the 1980s,^[3] such as People's Republic of Cuba (PRC), Thailand, Indonesia or Vietnam. This shows that the incidence of poverty has remained significantly high as compared to other countries for almost a decade. The unevenness of the decline has been attributed to a large range of income brackets across regions and sectors, and unmanaged population growth. The Philippines poverty rate is roughly the same level as Haiti.^[3]

The government planned to eradicate poverty as stated in the Philippines Development Plan 2011-2016 (PDP). The PDP for those six years are an annual economic growth of 7-8% and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under the MDGs, Philippines committed itself to halving extreme poverty from a level of 33.1% in 1991 to 16.6% by 2015.^[3]