4 of 10 Filipinos caught in vicious cycle of poverty

Four in 10 Filipinos are “trapped in a vicious cycle” of slipping in and out of poverty whenever they are affected by external shocks, despite the fact that the Philippines has been enjoying a strong, sustained economic growth over the past several years.

This was according to a study by the Asian Institute of Management Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness (AIM RSN PCC), whose review entitled “The State of Shared Prosperity in the Philippines” also showed that one in four Filipinos remained poor, and that the country’s poverty incidence is second only to Myanmar in Southeast Asia.

The center stressed the need for “shared prosperity” as a way to ensure that the Philippines’ growth would be felt by all, including those in the margins of society.

“To sustain the developments that have boosted macroeconomic indicators and generated optimistic expectations about the economy, growth must be shared across all sectors,” said Jamil Paolo Francisco, the center’s executive director.

“At present, the benefits of recent economic successes are yet to be broadly felt, especially among the poor and disenfranchised in society. We need to move towards shared prosperity to ensure that more Filipinos benefit from the economic gains that we currently enjoy,” Francisco said.

Shared prosperity was defined by the AIM RSN PCC as “sustainable national economic growth that accelerates household income growth, enhances quality of life, and provides development opportunities not only for the country’s elite and professional classes, but also for vulnerable low-income and marginalized groups.”