Imee Marcos: Strengthen social protection to meet 14% poverty incidence target

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Imee Marcos said social protection must be strengthened to achieve 14 percent poverty incidence target of the Duterte administration.

Marcos also noted that the Pamilyang Pantawid Pilipino Program or 4Ps must be reviewed and that the Social Security System (SSS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) must have proper funding.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to poverty. It will take focus and hard work, a macro-view of how government programs are interlinked, legislative support, and disaster anticipation and preparation amid the unpredictable El Nino and typhoon season,” Marcos said in a statement on Friday.

Marcos added that “attention to agricultural production, rural development and land reform will address the 60 percent of the country’s poor in the agriculture sector and the 40 percent located in Mindanao.”

Philippine Statistics Authority previously reported that poverty incidence among Filipinos in the first half of 2018 was at 21 percent, lower than the 27.6 percent recorded in the first half of 2015.

Poverty incidence is the proportion of the population living below the poverty line to the total population of Filipinos.