PHL seeks to cut poverty level to 16.6% by 2016

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Monday said the government seeks to cut the poverty incidence in the Philippines to just 16.6 percent by 2016, the year President Benigno Aquino III steps down from office.

During a briefing on the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) at Malacañang, Balisacan however admitted it will take decades to fully address the problem of poverty in the country.

“Substantially bringing down poverty takes a long time, as experiences of other countries have shown,” he said.

He said bringing the poverty level down to 16.6 percent from 25.2 percent in 2012 is “an even bigger challenge” than lowering the level of unemployment and underemployment.

Balisacan said unemployment rate has been kept within the targeted range of 6.8 to 7.2 percent (7.1 percent in 2013) while underemployment is still close to 20 percent (19.3 percent in 2013). The target for 2016 is an unemployment rate of 6.5 to 6.7 percent and an underemployment rate of 17 percent.

On the other hand, the Gross Domestic Product target for 2016 is 7.5 to 8.5 percent. It was at 7.2 percent in 2013.

The investment/GDP ratio target, meanwhile, is 22 percent, which has almost been reached as of 2013.

Balisacan said the economic targets laid out in the PDP 2011-2016, which dictates the government’s roadmap for inclusive growth, are “on track” despite the recent disasters that hit the country.

“The Philippine economy still expanded by 7.2 percent, improving from the 6.8 percent achieved in 2012,” he said, adding such creditable performance “was supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals marked by low and stable inflation, favorable interest rates, sustainable fiscal and external positions and a stable financial sector.”

Balisacan pointed out that the Philippines was one of the “best performers” among the Asian economies during the period, citing the country’s upgraded credit rating and improvements in global competitiveness indices.

However, Balisacan admitted that “economic growth is necessary but not sufficient for poverty reduction.”

He said “the key is to directly address the constraints faced by the poor, set against a backdrop of rapid and sustained growth.”

But Balisacan said the overall development of the country is “ultimately a product of the dynamism of the private sector.”

“The role of government is to set the necessary policy and regulatory framework and provide public goods and services to catalyze private initiative and encourage efficiency improvements,” he said. — KBK, GMA News