Malacañang has welcomed the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on self-rated poverty and self-rated food poverty that showed a decrease in the number of poor Filipino families, saying the government anti-poverty program is gaining ground.“We acknowledge the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on self-rated poverty and self-rated food poverty showing a decrease in the number of Filipino families who considered themselves as poor and ‘food-poor’ at 50 percent and 33 percent, respectively,” Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“We note that the rating for self-rated hunger is the lowest since 2011 while the rating for self-rated food poverty is two percentage points lower than the 35 percent recorded in September last year.”
According to Secretary Coloma, the latest SWS survey validates the efficacy of the government’s purposive and targeted social protection and poverty alleviation programs, anchored on the expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which has benefitted close to 4.4 households nationwide.
The government, he said, is committed to sustaining the momentum of its social protection and social welfare programs through the delivery of basic education, skills training and universal health care in the remaining months of the Aquino administration.
These government initiatives seek to bring about the inclusion of all marginalized citizens in the mainstream of social opportunity, he added.
In a separate statement, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the latest SWS survey encourages the administration to further maximize the country’s resources toward greater inclusivity.
The 2016 budget attests to this government commitment, he said, noting that the Department of Education was again given the largest share of the budget, as well as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program.
“In the coming months, our agencies will remain hard at work promoting countrywide development and implementing programs that will truly benefit the people,” Secretary Lacierda said.
“Clearly, the Philippines is already on the path to progress. Heading into the next elections, we trust that the Filipino people will vote with the long-term future in mind and choose to remain on Daang Matuwid.”
The SWS released on Wednesday the results of its fourth quarter 2015 survey on self-rated poverty and self-rated food poverty, indicating that 50 percent of Filipino families consider themselves poor, bringing the yearly average to 50 percent.
This is four points below the 2014 average of 54 percent and is also the lowest annual average for self-rated poverty since 2011.
The survey, which was conducted from December 5 to 8 among 1,200 adult respondents nationwide, also revealed that 33 percent of families consider themselves food-poor—a two-point drop compared to last September’s 35 percent and the lowest quarterly rate since March 2010. PND (as) |