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Inquirer Headlines: Nation

A World with Extreme Poverty is a World of Insecurity.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

GMA says self-rated poverty lowest since Marcos era

culled from: www.abs-cbnnews.com

The Philippine Star-Marvin Sy

President Arroyo argued on Friday that, while self-rated poverty has not gone down since the last survey in November, it is still the lowest among the five administrations since Marcos.
Interviewed by the Japanese Jiji Press at MalacaƱang, the President said her administration’s efforts in reducing poverty have resulted in the lowest SRP since 1983.

"Yes, it has not gone down from the last survey but if you look at five administrations, it’s the lowest," the President said. She said her vision for the country extends beyond her term in such a way that, by 2020, the Philippines will be a first world country: "By that time we would have dramatically reduced poverty."

In a statement, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the "official, concrete data on poverty incidence show a picture that is improving for each passing year." MalacaƱang data show that the average SRP rate has declined from 64.5 percent during the tenure of ousted President Ferdinand Marcos to 63.4 percent under Corazon Aquino, 62.2 percent under Fidel Ramos, 59.56 percent with Joseph Estrada and 57.32 percent under the Arroyo administration.

Poverty incidence, on the other hand, has gone down from 27.2 percent of families in 2000 to 23 percent in 2006, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). Cabinet secretary Ricardo Saludo said that, in terms of individuals, the decline from 27.2 percent to 23 percent represents a reduction of 5.5 million from the ranks of poor Filipinos, meaning 19.9 million families were affected by poverty in 2006.

Saludo added that, under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, the government intends to reduce the number of poor families to 16.8 million by 2010. Based on the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on self-rated poverty, the nationwide figures on self-rated poverty showed little change from 52 percent in November last year to 53 percent in February this year.


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