Neda: Tools to measure PH poverty need update

Neda Sec. Arsenio Balisacan —Photo from Neda FB page

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s statistics agency has admitted that the daily food poverty threshold of P63.87 per person a day is “insufficient,” adding that it will review the methodology for calculating poverty and food thresholds next year.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) clarified what it called the “recent misconceptions” surrounding the food and poverty thresholds arising from the agency’s estimate that P64 per day for three meals is considered sufficient to avoid being classified as “food poor.”

READ: You’re not food poor if you spend at least P64 daily for meals – Neda

“These thresholds serve as part of a broader set of tools used to assess the country’s development progress and to measure the effectiveness of the government’s policies and programs in addressing poverty,” Neda Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in an Aug. 16 statement.

‘Decent standard’

“They are not, and were never intended to be, prescribed budgets for a decent standard of living. They do not dictate how much a family should spend on food, nor do they provide an idea of a desirable household budget,” Balisacan added.

This statement came after Balisacan mentioned during the Senate hearing on the 2025 national budget that the monthly food threshold for a family of five is P9,581, which breaks down to approximately P64 per person.

In response, various groups and officials slammed Neda’s poverty measure as disconnected from the actual experiences of Filipinos and do not accurately reflect their reality.

“Part of the government’s role is to measure and monitor the trend of poverty over the years. This task requires us to develop a consistent survey methodology patterned after international standards, hence, [using] these thresholds,” said Balisacan in defense.

PSA review

The Neda head had previously cited the need to revisit the prescribed food bundle to ensure that it accurately reflects the commonly consumed food of Filipinos.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday also agreed that the food threshold per person a day is “insufficient,” saying that it will review the methodology for calculating poverty and food thresholds next year.

The scheduled adjustment was initially planned for 2021 but was postponed due to the pandemic.

“It’s really insufficient but [the way] we set up the food threshold and the poverty threshold is the minimum basic needs, so it’s the least cost,” said National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa.