Upgrade in Philippines income status an empty achievement

MANILA, Philippines — Moving up the ladder toward an upper-middle income country status by end-2022 may be an empty achievement as the economy remains fragile and the labor market has yet to recover.

Research and advocacy group IBON Foundation said the government’s target to upgrade to an upper-middle income country by the end of the year is just a number and is not a reflection of the actual situation.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua earlier maintained that the Philippines is on track to hit the target as the economy will also return to its pre-pandemic level.

Chua said it means living without poverty and having equal opportunities to succeed.

“Even if reached, this is an empty achievement amid the weakest economy and worst joblessness in decades and will just reflect the prosperity of an elite few,” IBON said.

The group argued that such is a mere statistical computation that the country’s gross national income (GNI) per capita is within the range for an upper-middle income economy as classified by the World Bank.

The Washington-based World Bank set this at between $4,096 and $12,695 in 2020.

Even if the Philippines meets the requisite minimum, IBON said this would be achieved while agriculture and manufacturing are treading their lowest shares of the economy in over seven decades.

“Increasing GNI per capita is not benefiting ordinary Filipinos because the gains are concentrated in a few families and their corporations. Statistical upper-middle income status is due to relatively rapid economic growth since the 2000s,” IBON said.

Further, unemployment problems in the country have yet to be resolved, which in turn is driving poverty.

The top 40 richest Filipinos saw their net worth grow since 2006 and IBON said this indicates a worsening concentration of economic power.

Their wealth also increased during the height of the pandemic in 2020 despite growing poverty and unemployment.

The local think tank cautioned against making too much of GNI or GDP per capita as indicators of development.

“The group said that the government should instead look at the extent to which its policies are genuinely improving people’s lives with steady jobs, decent incomes, and free or affordable social and public services,” IBON said.

“These will only be achieved with real agricultural development, national industrialization, and transformative social policies, which is what the people should constantly demand from the Duterte administration and the next to come,” it said.