The Philippines won a major battle recently when it was reported that poverty incidence for a full year fell below 20 percent. To be precise, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the rate for 2018 was 16.6 percent. For many decades, about a third of the Philippine population lived below the poverty line. In 2015, the poverty incidence was 23.3 percent. At 16.6 percent, the PSA also mentioned that 17.6 million Filipinos were living below the poverty threshold of P10,727 monthly income for a family of five.
PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN