RP falls behind in Asia in poverty reduction–ADB

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country to have recorded an increase in the absolute number of poor people since 1990.

In its new study, the Manila-based lender said the country is the region’s laggard when it comes to reducing poverty, as shown by its annual poverty reduction rate of 0.47 percent. This is slower than those of Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Vietnam.

The lender said the lack of quality employment for many poor Filipinos, especially in the agriculture sector, is the culprit in the slow decline of the country’s poverty rates.

Other reasons include inequality across income brackets, high population growth, natural disasters and long-standing conflicts in various regions.

ADB said the government has already shown commitment to reduce poverty through a number of projects and programs.

But the transition to a higher and sustained growth has been hampered by low domestic investments, weaknesses in institutions and social infrastructure, and a failure to generate quality jobs for the poor, it added.

According to latest government statistics, poverty incidence in the Philippines increased from 30 percent in 2003 to 32.9 percent in 2006—or one in five households are living in chronic poverty.

It is estimated that poverty rates have increased even further in the wake of the global economic crisis, external price shocks, and natural disasters in 2008 and 2009.

While gains have been achieved in meeting several of the Millennium Development Goals, the country is trailing targets on access to primary education, maternal mortality rates, and access to reproductive healthcare.”Chronic poverty jeopardizes the Philippines’ chances of achieving high levels of economic growth needed to improve the wellbeing of all the country’s people,” Camilla Holmemo, a Poverty Reduction Specialist in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department said.

To improve the country’s campaign against poverty, the government should enhance current strategies and involve a full range of partners for a collective and coordinated response.

“Poverty reduction will not only benefit the poor themselves but society as a whole. It is in everyone’s interest to make poverty reduction a priority,” said Holmemo.

The ADB study showed that the key priorities should include strengthened social protection, improved human development, more efficient population management, job creation, infrastructure investments, and continued economic reforms for sustained and inclusive growth—including fiscal reforms that can increase resources for social services—poverty reduction efforts, infrastructure and agriculture reform. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times