Palace ‘concerned’ with increase of poverty perception in SWS poll

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

After the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released its third quarter survey that says more Filipinos considered themselves poor, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque admitted that they were concerned about the high number but the statistics of food-poor should also be taken into consideration.

“Yes, we’re concerned that the perception of poverty increased, however, take note that iyong [statistics from] food poor decreased,” Roque said when asked for a reaction on Sunday in Malacañang.

READ: More Filipinos consider themselves poor in 3rd quarter of 2017

“Food-poor” pertains to how Filipinos rate the food that they eat.

Roque said that the government is “still very much encouraged” after they compared the number of the current administration to the number got by the previous government.

“We’re still very much encouraged by the fact that the perception of food poor is decreased and the average of the Duterte administration, which is 45, is still lower than the previous administration,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“We hope that the gains of unprecedented economic gain natin will soon be translated to more economic gains for the poor,” Roque added.

According to the recent release, the SWS survey showed that 7 percent, or about 10.9 million, of Filipino families think they are poor. This was about three points above the 44 percent, or about 10.1 million, in June 2017.

The 32 percent or 7.2 million statistics of those families who considered themselves as “food-poor” remained untouched.

The survey was conducted from Sept. 23 to 27. /je