‘Drop in self-rated poor, food-poor due to cheap rice’

The availability of cheaper rice may be one of the reasons why fewer Filipinos that took part in a survey declared that they are poor or that they lack food, Cabinet Secretary Karlo B. Nograles said on Tuesday.

Nograles made the statement following the release of the results of the Third Quarter 2019 Social Weather Stations (SWS) Survey which focused on self-rated poverty and self-rated food poverty. The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicated that the average retail price of regular-milled rice in the fourth week of September reached P37.63 per kilogram. The figure is 18.4 percent lower than the average price of P46.14 per kg recorded last year. Figures from the PSA also showed that the average wholesale price of regular-milled rice also fell by 21.2 percent to P34.04 per kg, from last year’s P43.22 per kg.

“The downward movement of rice prices really helps underprivileged families who must make the most of a tight budget,” Nograles said in a statement.

According to the September 27 to 30 SWS survey results released on Monday, 42 percent of the families, or 10.3 million families, consider themselves as “poor.” This is a three-point recovery from the 45 percent, or estimated 11 million families recorded in June. The survey also found that 29 percent of the families, or an estimated 7.1 million families, rated themselves as “food-poor.” This is a six-point recovery from the 35 percent, or around 8.5 million families, in June.

Aside from declining rice prices, inflation rates have also been falling in recent months. Inflation slowed to 0.9 percent in September since hitting its peak in September and October last year at 6.7 percent.

Despite these developments,

Nograles made an assurance that the government will not rest on its laurels and would instead step up efforts to address hunger and poverty in the country.

While Nograles said the SWS results are “encouraging,” he said the figures also indicate that the government should continue working to ensure that every Filipino family can provide for their own needs, especially food.

Various line agencies have earlier agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding that formalizes their respective roles in the enhanced Partnership against hunger and Poverty (ePAhP).

“Our goal is to ensure that all these anti-hunger programs are linked with other government food and nutrition programs so that they are fully maximized,” said Nograles.

“Government feeding programs, for example, can source their produce from local farmers, and agencies like the DA [Department of Agriculture] can facilitate that. This is just an example of how ePAhP will utilize a whole-of-nation approach to eradicate hunger,” he added.

Line agencies involved in the ePAhP are the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Agrarian Reform, Agriculture, the Interior and Local Government, education, health, Science and Technology, and Trade and Industry.

Other agencies to be tapped in the initiative are the National Anti-Poverty Commission, National Irrigation Administration, Land Bank of the Philippines, Technical education and Skills Development Authority, and the Commission on Population and Development. The government is aiming to bring down poverty incidence in the country to 14 percent by 2022.

The Philippines is also one of the countries that have committed to end hunger by 2030, one of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.