MARCOS CONFIDENT OF CUTTING POVERTY RATE

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday expressed confidence the government can significantly reduce the country’s poverty incidence to a single digit by the time President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. steps down from office in 2028.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said this is achievable amid the global headwinds and challenges of higher inflation rate.

Balisacan, who also heads the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the 9 percent goal by 2028, from the 17.1 percent for 2022, will be accomplished by bringing growth to a higher level, enhancing the quality of growth through the creation of quality jobs, and improving the social protection system, among others.

“But associated with that would be the generation of not just more jobs but higher quality jobs. And those two, growth and jobs, and paying attention to social protection to address shocks like typhoons and crises [will] enable us to achieve faster reduction of poverty from where it is today to single digit, at nine percent actually,” the official said in a meeting with the Chief Executive.

This is part of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 of the Marcos administration, whose eight-point economic agenda includes programs for the provision of a “greener economy and more sustainable, affordable and livable residential areas in the next six years,” he added.

Balisacan is also optimistic that the Philippines’ post-pandemic economic growth “is firming” despite the volatility of several factors such as the geopolitical landscapes and high interest rates.

The NEDA chief’s remarks came following the President’s earlier assertion that the country’s economy “is moving” and “on the right track” after posting a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.6 percent for the third quarter of this year.

The World Bank last month projected the country’s poverty incidence to go down to 17.1 percent this year from the 18.1 percent posted last year as a result of the lower unemployment rate listed last August.

It also predicted for the GDP to stand at an average of 5.8 percent in 2023 and 2024.