Decline in poverty incidence proof of PRRD’s accomplishments: Palace

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace welcomes the recent poverty incidence figures which showed a decline both in Filipino individuals and families. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — Malacañang on Wednesday said the decline in poverty incidence is a proof of the accomplishments of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace welcomes the recent poverty incidence figures which showed a decline both in Filipino individuals and families.

“These figures highlight that the Duterte administration has made significant strides and reflect how it seriously deals with the long-standing national issue of poverty,” Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo cited the broadening access to free education, free medicine and improved healthcare facilities, institutional school feeding program for public school children, higher pension for seniors and veterans, salary increases for soldiers, policemen, firemen, teachers and government workers, free irrigation for farmers and other socioeconomic services as some of the initiatives accomplished by the Duterte administration.

Panelo said the goal is to favor the marginalized citizens and ensure that Filipinos directly benefit from the country’s economic gains.

He assured the public that the Duterte administration will continue to work hard to further trim down the poverty incidence to 14 percent by 2022.

“As we commend the responsible departments and agencies for doing their respective jobs with commitment and fervor, we will not rest but rather continue to work hard to achieve our target of decreasing poverty incidence to 14 percent, or even better, by the end of PRRD’s term in 2022 and fulfill the President’s vision of providing a comfortable life for each and every Filipino,” he said.

The latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on poverty incidence among Filipino individuals showed a decline to 21 percent for the first semester of 2018 from 27.6 percent in 2015.

On the other hand, the poverty incidence among families was estimated at 16.1 percent, lower than 22.2 percent tallied in the same period in 2015.