Phl economic gains trickling down to masses, says solon

MANILA, Philippines - The economic gains the country has achieved under President Aquino are now trickling down to the masses, an administration ally said yesterday.

Proof of this is the recent survey showing that fewer Filipinos consider themselves poor, Easter Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said.

He said the reportedly decrease in self-rated poverty “is the result of both the pro-poor programs of the administration and the sustained economic growth of our country despite the economic turmoil in Europe and the slow recovery in the United States.”

He said the country’s economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarters and nearly six percent in the second quarter.

“The President’s economic managers are confident that growth this year would average six percent, one of the highest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region,” he added.

“All these positive developments can be attributed to the right path of good governance of President Aquino, which serves as the main anchor of development and progress. Because of this good governance initiative, international and domestic business confidence is very high. This translates to more investments and job opportunities,” he stressed.

He pointed out that the challenge now for the nation is how to sustain economic growth and ensure that gains would continue to lessen poverty.

Economic experts have estimated that the Philippines would have to stay on the high growth path for seven to eight years for poverty among its people to be significantly reduced.

“This is the great challenge to all of us, particularly to our leaders. This is the reason why the President has been stressing that the people should make the right decision in 2016 to elect his successor who would continue his good governance reforms,” Evardone said.

He said government agencies should continue efforts to lessen if not eliminate corruption.

“The money we save from reducing corruption we can spend for other projects that would create jobs for our people,” he said.

He cited the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation and Communications are agencies where programs to cut corruption have attained noticeable results.

The two agencies implement billions of pesos worth of projects like road and airport improvement and construction.

According to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, the number of Filipinos who consider themselves poor has dropped to 47 percent (9.5 million families) in August, from 51 percent (10.3 million families) in May.

 SWS said the last time self-rated poverty fell below 50 percent was in December 2011 – at 45 percent. The record low is 43 percent, achieved in March 1987 and in March 2010.