Single-digit poverty rate by 2028 possible, says DOF exec

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 said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

(The poverty rate released by the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) is low… it also decreased. Actually, it is still quite high, at 15.5 percent when looking at individuals. But what’s important here is that we’re on track.)

“Hopefully sa end ng President Marcos administration, below 10 percent at single digit na siya. So, we’re on track actually to bring down poverty to single digit,” she added.

(Hopefully, by the end of President Marcos’ administration, it will be below 10 percent and in single digits. So, we’re actually on track to bring down poverty to single digits.)

Velasquez cited the country’s second quarter gross domestic product growth as one of the indicators that the country is on its way to achieving a single-digit poverty rate. 

“‘Yung mga recent few weeks actually maganda yung mga economic indicators nating nakita. So ‘yung GDP growth nung second quarter, so ‘’yung size ng ekonomiya, lumago ng 6.3 percent. So that’s coming from 5.8 ng Q1 [quarter one],” she said.

(In the recent few weeks, we’ve actually seen good economic indicators. The GDP growth in the second quarter, the size of the economy, grew by 6.3 percent. That’s coming from 5.8 percent in Q1 [quarter one].)

But Velasquez also noted that Filipino consumers’ spending remains conservative.

“Mukhang mababa ‘to dahil kasi ‘di ba naalala ninyo two years ago, two years na actually mataas iyong inflation natin at 6 percent, 5.8 percent last year. Pero ngayon pababa na kaya hopefully mas maganda iyong maging, kumbaga maging outlook in terms ng household consumption,” she said.

(It seems low because, remember, two years ago, our inflation was actually high at 6 percent, 5.8 percent last year. But now it’s going down, so hopefully, the outlook in terms of household consumption will be better.)

Meanwhile, Velasquez said the country’s unemployment figures are also okay, highlighting that the latest unemployment rate was at 3.1 percent compared with the pre-pandemic record of around 5.1 percent.

“So, actually, mas maganda iyong employment – mas madaming mga taong nagkakatrabaho; underemployment although medyo above… around 12 percent pa rin pero medyo mas mababa din compared doon sa pandemic,” she said.

(So, actually, employment is better – more people are getting jobs; underemployment, although still a bit above… around 12 percent, is also somewhat lower compared to the pandemic period.)