Pimentel raises alarm over inaccurate poverty data being sent to Palace

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel the plenary deliberations on the proposed 2024 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development on November 16, 2023. Senate PRIB photo / Joseph Vidal

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Thursday raised alarm over what he considers inaccurate poverty data given to the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Pimentel raised his concern during the Senate’s deliberations on the proposed 2024 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“Kawawa kasi ang Presidente rin. Sa State of the Nation Address niya he mentions figures,” said Pimentel, recalling that Marcos vowed to lower the Philippines’ poverty rate to a single digit by the end of his term.

(I pity the President. In his State of the Nation Address he mentions figures.)

Pimentel said the assumption is that the 2021 poverty rate is 18.1 percent, but DSWD’s community-based monitoring system Listahanan indicates that it is at 30 percent.

READ: Marcos admin’s economic managers are sure poverty rate down to 9% by 2028

“Kaya malakas ang loob ng economic planners, official family, [and] of the President to commit that at the end of his term ay nine percent [na lang] ang poverty rate,”  Pimentel said.

(That’s why the economic planners, official family, [and] the President are brave enough to commit that at the end of his term the poverty rate will be reduced to nine percent.)

Senator Imee Marcos, sponsor of the DSWD’s 2024 budget, admitted that there has “always been a problem” with the country’s poverty data.

READ: Millions seen sinking deeper in poverty as inflation threatens economic growth

“I’d be the first to say so, because as a governor, I had to disaggregate my own provincial data with great difficulty because first of all, household and family are different and then the consideration of the poor and malnourished varies,” she explained, partly in Filipino.

Pimentel, later in the hearing, stressed that it is necessary to provide the administration factual figures, rather than mere “desktop or tabletop calculations.”

“Let’s help the administration and help the President by giving him correct figures. [Or] maybe [let’s just ensure] our figures have a factual basis,” he said.

Talking to DSWD officials, Pimentel pointed out that the success of the administration will be measured by the promises fulfilled by the President.

“We are the minority in the Senate. We are not aligned with the administration. We are critical cooperators, [but] we want the administration to succeed because his success is [also] the success of the country,” Pimentel added.