Poverty in Q1 2018 is 42%: Time to Reposition the Debate

Q1 2018 self-reported poverty is 42%, the same as it was right after Duterte assumed office. The 42%figure is a historical low since SWS started taking the survey in 1983.

However, even as the Duterte administration has hit the figure twice, poverty reduction rate is almost flat during the entire seven quarters of the Duterte regime. But again it is too early to make anything of this. Self-reported poverty was in fact rising during the entire first four years of the Aquino II administration, before plunging down to around 44% in 2016 just before he left and Duterte rode the momentum.

Note that we are still talking about a national median monthly poverty threshold of P13,000 per family. That would mean that 42% of Filipino families were living below that threshold, with a very high number in the Visayas. The threshold is set higher at P20,000 in NCR. However, that's still just over P660 for 30% of families in the NCR that are self-reporting as poor by that low standard.

Although really very slowly, self-reported poverty has been going down for a while now. It is time for the Left to reposition the debate from poverty alone and to focus really on inequality. The thresholds are very low, especially compared with all the good stuff that the middle class can now afford.

https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20180425175540