EDITORIAL - Making a dent against poverty

Tracking official poverty statistics, more people in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon rated themselves poor and “food-poor,” according to a survey conducted last month by pollster Social Weather Stations Inc. The administration can regard the survey as just the latest challenge to intensify efforts to alleviate poverty and make the fruits of economic growth trickle down to the grassroots.

The administration has been baffled by statistics showing that poverty incidence has remained largely unchanged in the past years. The situation improved slightly last year for the extremely poor, with much of the credit attributed to the conditional cash transfer or CCT program.

The CCT is being expanded, but making a dent in poverty will take more than conditional cash handouts. An estimated 40 million Filipinos live below the poverty line, with a large number classified as extremely poor. Sustained economic growth, as administration officials acknowledge, has not been inclusive.

Employment overseas and in business process outsourcing in the Philippines are helping to lift families out of poverty and expand the middle class. The government is also slowly addressing rapid population growth with the enactment of the Reproductive Health Law.

As surveys and studies keep showing, however, many more reforms are needed to make a dent in poverty. Steady, reliable sources of income are needed so the masses can enjoy food security, proper health care, and the kind of education that will guarantee decent employment for youths.

Reforms are needed to boost production and create reliable jobs in the agriculture sector. There’s a wide room for growth in agribusiness. Tourism can create meaningful employment. And the nation needs a competitive environment for manufacturing and other job-generating enterprises.

President Aquino said yesterday he would no longer seek a second term, and he sounded like he meant it. If he wants to make a dent against poverty, the latest survey should give urgency to the task.