4.1 million Pinoys still living in ‘extreme’ poverty

Some 4.1 million Filipinos continue to live in "extreme" poverty despite government claims that the nation’s economy has improved and the peso has become stronger, an anti-poverty alliance said yesterday.

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty-Philippines (GCAP-Philippines) said the government has failed to implement genuine pro-poor programs.

"The lives of the poor and socially excluded are not getting any better simply because of the government’s neglect of the needs and demands of the poor," Marivic Raquiza, GCAP-Philippines national coordinator, said.

Raquiza said the government appears to be postulating a "distorted reality" when it claimed that the Philippine economy improved while millions of Filipinos remain in "extreme poverty."

Hunger levels continue to rise while unemployment and underemployment rates are "extremely high" at 11 percent and 21 percent, she added.

Raquiza said this condition is forcing 10 percent of the country’s population to find jobs abroad, while others have resorted to working in the informal economy as vendors and peddlers, among others.

"While the government usually celebrates Labor Day through meetings with pro-government labor unions to boast success of its employment programs and trumpet the strengths and opportunities of the country’s labor force, thousands of trade unions, labor and urban poor groups across the political spectrum have massed up in the streets and freedom parks of Manila to speak up and tell the truth about the real state of the economy and poverty in the country," she said.

Raquiza criticized the government for the absence of accountable and transparent governance, for the massive charges of corruption and lack of political will which hamper the genuine implementation of a social reform agenda.

"This is the irony of May 1," she said. "Despite the government claims that the Philippine economy improved... Over 700,000 poor Filipinos live in slum communities in Metro Manila alone and the numbers are growing.

"Pro-poor spending for basic social services is at an all-time low, while debt service continues to claim the lion’s share in the national budget."

Yesterday, more than 3,000 members of urban poor people’s organizations and coalitions under the GCAP-Philippines joined mass demonstrations as part of the Labor Day commemoration of workers’ struggle for their rights.

Members of GCAP-Philippines marched to convey solidarity with other labor groups, express disgust at the government, and dramatize the bleak realities of poverty and social exclusion.

The GCAP-Philippines contingent was comprised of the Kalipunan ng Samahang Maralita sa Pilipinas, Assalam Bangsamoro People’s Association, Piglas-Kababaihan, Kilusan para sa Makatarungang Lipunan at Gobyerno and National Urban Poor Coalition.