By Liza Soriano
MANILA – The Marcos administration remains steadfast in its commitment to reducing the country’s poverty rate to single digits by 2028, with recent data showing encouraging progress.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), poverty incidence among Filipino families dropped to 10.9 percent in 2023, a significant improvement from 13.2 percent in 2021.
This reduction means that approximately 109 out of every 1,000 Filipino families are now classified as poor.
Poverty incidence among individuals also declined, falling to 15.5 percent in 2023 from 18.1 percent in 2021. This translates to 17.54 million Filipinos living below the poverty line in 2023, a significant decrease of 2.36 million compared to 2021, according to PSA Chief and National Statistician Dennis Mapa.
While these figures reflect the administration’s progress toward its poverty reduction goals, sustained efforts and effective policies will be crucial to maintaining this momentum and further reducing poverty rates.
Metro Manila continues to have the lowest poverty incidence at 1.8 percent, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has the highest at 32.4 percent.
As of 2023, the average poverty threshold for a family of five is P13,873 per month, a 15.6 percent increase compared to 2021.
(ia/mnm)