“Ang Kanibukasan ng Bayan”

Photo Credit: Instavine

The Philippines is one of the growing and developing countries in Asia as the Philippines is considered as the rising tiger of Asia, but this developing nation has also encountered numerous state problems. Such as poverty, crime rates, illiteracy, and prostitution that will likely increase amidst this current Covid-19 pandemic.    

According to the Philippines Orphanage Foundation (2020), The Philippines has a poverty rate of 15.5% to 17.5%, wherein it shows that the population lives on less than $1.90 per day, 27.4% live on less than $3.20 per day, and 55.1% live on less than $5.50 per day (World Bank Data, n.d).  Widespread corruption in both Filipino politics and business prevents any opportunities for social mobility and growth.  

This is an alarming number, as the Philippines is ranked as the 76th country according to the Global Finance Magazine (2020). This number has also decreased from previous years, from 2015 to 2020, the rate of poverty declined from 21.6% to 16.6%. As the Philippine Government has taken actions to help decrease the number of people living below the poverty line. According to borgenproject.org (2020), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte aims to reduce the rate of poverty to 14% by 2022. Through its strategy, AmBisyon 2040, the Philippine government plans to eradicate extreme poverty by 2040. Furthermore, the government has implemented various programs and reforms to reduce poverty by targeting education, healthcare, and the overall economy. Here are some ways the program is combating poverty in the Philippines.

Firstly, the Philippines has greatly improved access to education: As education is considered as one of the factors of systemic poverty is a lack of access to education in impoverished areas. People gain basic skills and increased job opportunities through education, which can help to combat poverty in the Philippines. Therefore, the Philippines signed the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in 2017 to encourage more people to enroll in higher education and to address the issue of education inequality. The Act aims to decrease the number of dropouts in higher education and promote the idea that higher education is available to all.

Secondly, the Philippines has implemented and improved family aid, to further efforts to support citizens, the government implemented the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in 2007. The 4Ps is is a conditional cash transfer program for impoverished households. The program gives households grants so long as they meet certain requirements, including keeping the children in school, having regular health check-ups, and having parents or guardians attend Family Development Sessions. The 4Ps program benefits about 20 million Filipinos, 9 million of whom are children. Therefore, the program reaches about 20% of the population with the goal of greater poverty reduction.

Thirdly, the Philippines has also improved in its Economic sector, with the intent of reducing poverty by strengthening economics, President Duterte signed the Rice Tariffication Law in February 2019, amending the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996. The Law places a 35% tariff on imported rice to prioritize local rice production for the population by stabilizing the supply. The tariff also aims to benefit local farmers by creating a more efficient and competitive agricultural system.

And lastly, the Philippine Government has planned on conducting the Build, Build, Build program. Some projects include new public transportation and airport renovations. With support from loans, the Philippines will rely on Build, Build, Build as a strategy to aid the country in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The government hopes that combatting the effects of the pandemic by improving the country’s infrastructure will stimulate the economy and create more jobs. However, the program has received criticism due to its slow execution as a result of underspending.

Unfortunately, poverty is expected to increase in the Philippines because of the coronavirus crisis. This will lead to a decrease in consumption growth and further income losses. Therefore, greater efforts are necessary to combat poverty in the Philippines amid the pandemic, which has hit the impoverished the hardest.