MANILA, Philippines — An up-to-date Philippine poverty threshold is set to come out in May 2025, according to Sen. Grace Poe. Speaking on behalf of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) during the Senate’s Thursday deliberations on the proposed 2025 funding, Poe said the poverty threshold is being updated yearly. It was Senate Minority ..read more

ILOILO CITY — Western Visayas has reported a significant drop in poverty incidence among families, with rates falling from 12.1% in 2021 to 9.8% in 2023. In an Oct. 18 report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the figure placed the region slightly ahead of the national poverty rate, which stood at 10.9%. “This means ..read more

WASHINGTON — Twenty-five Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to stop calling for further cuts to the largest U.S. food aid program for low-income Americans as a key committee considers a $728 billion farm and nutrition spending bill. The letter written to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reflects rising ..read more

(Last of two parts) MANILA, Philippines — Philippine officials are betting on a robust and expanding middle class to drive the country’s transformation into a prosperous society by 2040, where every Filipino enjoys a life free from poverty and deprivation. At a forum hosted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Dr. Rosemarie Edillon ..read more

MANILA, Philippines — Poverty is one of the most urgent problems in the world, and eradicating poverty in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges faced by humanity. It only makes sense that the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN) is No Poverty. Poverty has many dimensions, but its ..read more

MANILA, Philippines —  The government is “on track” to attain a single-digit poverty rate by 2028, Finance Undersecretary Domini Velasquez said on Saturday. “Iyong poverty rate na nilalabas ng PSA [Philippine Statistics Authority], mababa… bumaba din. Actually, medyo mataas pa rin, 15.5 percent ‘pag titingnan iyong individuals. But iyong importante dito, we’re on track,” Velasquez ..read more

MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) should reassess the current food poverty threshold as it is not enough to accommodate the rising cost of living in the country, Sen. Nancy Binay said on Friday. The senator argued that the P64 threshold a day does not equate to the real value of ..read more

MANILA, Philippines —  An additional P40 billion fund is needed to fight food poverty, especially malnutrition, among the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipinong Program (4Ps), according to an economic expert on Wednesday. Speaking at a media conference, Action for Economic Reform Executive Director Filomeno Sta. Ana III underscored the importance of having sufficient funding ..read more

MANILA, Philippines — If you spend more than P64 for three meals a day, you’re no longer considered “food poor.” This was based on the data from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). During the Senate panel on finance’s hearing on the proposed 2025 national budget on Tuesday, Sen. Nancy Binay asked Neda chief ..read more

Are there fewer Filipinos as government data tend to show? The question was posed by local think tank Ibon Foundation as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed what he described as a “significant drop” in poverty rate during his third state of the nation address (Sona) last July 22. READ: HIGHLIGHTS: Sona 2024 “Halos dalawa’t kalahating ..read more