Ted Cordero, GMA Integrated News
Nov 24, 2022
In its report “Overcoming Poverty and Inequality in the Philippines: Past, Present, and Prospects for the Future” released Thursday, the World Bank said that poverty rate in the Philippines fell by two-thirds in the past three decades —from 49.2% in 1985 to 16.7% in 2018— “driven by high growth rates and the expansion of jobs outside agriculture.”
In his keynote address during the report’s launch, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Arsenio Balisacan said that as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of two administrations and “having served in other capacities, I can say with conviction that our efforts to reduce poverty and inequality have come a long way.”
The World Bank report said that inequality is still high in the country despite the gains in poverty reduction.
“The Philippines aims to become a middle-class society free of poverty by 2040, but we know from global experience that no country has managed to make this transition while maintaining high levels of inequality,” said Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.
At a separate Palace briefing, Balisacan said the 8-point socioeconomic agenda and the upcoming Philippine Development Plan, PDP 2023-2028 is intended to address the issues like that “and that is to accelerate poverty reduction while ensuring that the rapid growth, that the plan for the medium-term will be very inclusive.”
The World Bank report highlighted that the expansion of secondary education, mobility to better-paying jobs, access to basic services, and government social assistance have started to reduce inequality since the mid-2000s.
“Inequality shapes outcomes later in life, such as employment opportunities and income, which in turn influence how much support adult Filipinos are able to provide for their children to help maximize their potential,” said Nadia Belhaj Hassine Belghith, Senior Economist with the East Asia Poverty Global Practice covering Thailand and the Philippines who led the study.
The report said that policy priorities to reduce inequality in the Philippines can be structured around three themes, including healing the pandemic’s scars and building resilience, setting the stage for a vibrant and inclusive recovery, and promoting greater equality of opportunity.
Baliscan said the World Bank report will provide analytical support to the Eight-point Socioeconomic Agenda of the Marcos Administration which underscores the importance of protecting households.