Current Situation of Poverty in the Philippines

Before the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Philippines had been successful in lowering the country’s poverty rate from 23.3% in 2015 to 16.6% in 2018. However, since the pandemic hit, the country’s progress against poverty has been reversed. As of 2020, it is estimated that the Philippines’ poverty rate has increased to 22.6% from 20.5% in 2019. The 2.1% increase equates to about 2.7 million new poor Filipinos in 2020 (Leyco, 2020).

With a population of about 109 million as of 2020, there are about 24 million poor Filipinos. World Bank senior economist Rong Qian says that the Philippine government’s COVID-19 response is to blame for the rise in the poverty rate because the community quarantines have resulted in increased unemployment, decreased wage rates, stagnant business activities and lessened remittances from overseas Filipino workers. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reports that the number of unemployed Filipinos aged 15 years old and above increased to 3.8 million in October 2020, which is a 2 million increase from October of the previous year (Leyco, 2020).

According to a study by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), if income is put to a halt amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of the total households in the Philippines would only have enough sustenance to survive for up to two weeks. Only 8.8% of Filipino households can survive for over 3 months with no income, and only 14.1% can survive for up to 3 months (Rivas, 2021). Qian of the World Bank also emphasizes the poor sector’s limited risk management capacity, especially those who work in the informal sector. A survey conducted by the World Bank on the perceptions of Filipino households on their income amidst COVID-19 shows that 88.6% of households are distressed over financial matters (Leyco, 2020).

References:

Leyco, C. S. (2020, December 8). 2.7 million slip into poverty in 2020. Retrieved from https://mb.com.ph/2020/12/08/2-7-million-slip-into-poverty-in-2020/

Rivas, R. (2020, March 30). Without income, half of Filipino households would survive for only 2 weeks — study. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/business/study-households-philippines-would-survive-weeks-no-income-adb-institute