Palace ‘pleased’ on 2% dip in PH self-rated poverty

Malacañang welcomed on Friday the result of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which showed a record low of 42-percentage self-rated poverty during the first quarter of 2018.

“We are pleased to note that Filipino families who consider themselves mahirap or poor continue to decrease to record-low 42% in March 2018, as shown by the latest Social Weather Stations survey,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

The latest SWS survey showed that Filipinos who considered themselves poor fell by 2 percent from the 44 percent registered in December 2017.

READ: SWS: 42% of Filipino families consider themselves ‘poor

“Our poverty-alleviation efforts are thus gaining ground as we continue to assure everyone that no one will be left in the Duterte administration,” Roque said.

“We would enhance our social protection mechanisms, which include quality healthcare and conditional cash transfers through revenues generated by the first package of the comprehensive tax reform program while expanding regional and countryside development to bring comfortable life to the marginalized and disadvantaged families,” he added.  /kga