Updated Philippine poverty threshold to be released May 2025 – Poe
MANILA, Philippines — An up-to-date Philippine poverty threshold is set to come out in May 2025, according to Sen. Grace Poe.
Speaking on behalf of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) during the Senate’s Thursday deliberations on the proposed 2025 funding, Poe said the poverty threshold is being updated yearly.
It was Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel who initially raised the matter about the poverty threshold, citing Neda’s earlier disclosure that a Filipino only needs to spend P64 per day for meals not to be considered food-poor.
“In May 2025 new data will come out, but now we are still using the metrics that were read earlier,” said Poe.
READ: Poverty as defined by the poor
Pimentel then took this opportunity to press Poe, asking her to lay down what Neda’s formula is to come up with new data.
Article continues after this advertisement“This is what they should have done from the beginning: A food nutritionist will come up with a nutritious meal plan based on what’s available and then that meal plan will be submitted to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and then the PSA will get a price collection for the ingredients that are being used, of course also taking into consideration at that time electricity cost and other charges for them to be able to determine a poverty threshold,” said Poe.
Article continues after this advertisement“But it will be an interagency group that will come up with a recommendation,” she added.
Pimentel said Neda’s earlier disclosure about P60 per day meal was controversial, pointing out that it gained many negative reactions where some netizens dared Neda officials to live with only P60 a day.
READ: You’re not food poor if you spend at least P64 daily for meals – Neda
Earlier, Poe said that there are “certain things” that have to be adjusted—for instance, the computation of the poverty threshold, noting that it might not be “workable” anymore.
According to Neda chief Arsenio Balisacan, the country’s food-poor threshold in 2021 was at P55, while it was at P63 in 2023.
