Binay advises Neda to reassess ₱64 food poverty threshold

Sen. Nancy Binay (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

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 food in the present time.

READ: P64 food budget per day ‘insufficient’, PSA says

“Kaya rin naman natin, in fact ilang budget na rin natin na-raise ang punto na to, na baka dapat taasan na ng NEDA yang threshold nila dahil hindi nga makatotohanan itong 64 pesos,” Binay stated in a an interview over Punto Asentado Reload.

(That is why we, in fact, raised this point in several budget [hearings], that maybe Neda should increase the threshold because it is not realistic.)

Binay emphasized the issue of poor nutrition, citing the escalation of kidney disease cases that may be related to cheap and unhealthy food diets.

“Maganda ding tingnan di ba napakalaki ng problema natin sa kidney problems –ang dami nating kababayan nagda-dialysis ngayon– so baka ang dahilan dun ay hindi masustansiyang pagkain ng ating mga kababayan,” she said.

(It is also worth noting that we have a big issue with kidney problems–a lot of Filipinos are taking dialysis nowadays–and maybe the reason for that is an unhealthy diet.)

Additionally, she mentioned that Nutribun, a nutritious bread produced to counter malnutrition, now costs P40.

“So di pa rin maa-afford ng mga kababayan natin yang Nutribun na yan, na supposed to be kumbaga ang requirement nila na nutrients ay nandun na sa Nutribun na yun,” Binay said.

(So our countrymen will still not be able to afford Nutribun, which is supposed to provide them the required nutrients.)

Binay hopes that Neda and the Philippine Statistics Authority will look at and study the problem more.

Meanwhile, she said the Senate is focusing on where the 2025 budget should go to address food poverty.

NEDA said in a budget hearing on Tuesday that if a person spends more than P64 on food daily, they do not fall into the “food poor” category. Arianne Denisse Cagsawa, INQUIRER.net intern