Visayas regions were “top of mind” in the Duterte administration’s drive to reduce poverty, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.
“When we speak of the need for equitable, more inclusive growth, the Visayas region should be top of mind,” Dominguez said in a speech read by Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin in Cebu City on Thursday at a roadshow for the Philippines’ hosting of the 51st Asian Development Bank annual meeting on May 3-6.
He said poverty rates in three Visayas regions—Western, Central and Eastern Visayas—“were all above the national average of 21.6 percent.”
‘Disparity’
“Moreover, income disparity in this part of the country is vivid,” he said.
Per capita income—or the average income per person per year—was P127,757 in Central Visayas, lower than the national average of P140,259, Dominguez said.
Per capita income was much lower in Western Visayas (P76,459) and Eastern Visayas (P67,638).
“The poorest provinces in the Visayas are among the areas at the heart” of the administration’s plan to reduce poverty rate to 14 percent by 2022, Dominguez said.