THE Philippines’ target of reducing poverty rate before the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in 2022 is still attainable despite the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Thursday.
“From 23.5 percent in 2015, the poverty rate fell significantly to around slightly below 17 percent in 2018. Despite the COVID-19 and the impact on the people this year we are still seeing our achievement of 14 percent by 2022,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a virtual press briefing.
Chua said a 14 percent poverty rate means that some six million Filipinos were lifted out of poverty.
The World Bank earlier said that the economic contraction in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis is likely to increase poverty in the short-term, resulting in 2.7 million additional poor people this year.
The NEDA chief said that key in economic recovery will be to open more of the economy to see income sources return. (with GMA News/PN)
