Aquino willing to 'tweak' anti-poverty programs to speed up inclusive growth

After government data revealed that poverty levels have remained unchanged for the past seven years despite the economy's robust growth in the last few years, President Benigno Aquino III said his administration is willing to “tweak” its anti-poverty programs to ensure inclusive growth in the country. In a press briefing on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Brunei, Aquino explained that a “reversal” of poverty figures is not possible overnight. “Will we tweak it [anti-poverty programs]? Siyempre, we are open to all of it—everything that will accelerate inclusive growth. Pero, hindi 'yung mag-invest tayo ng so many billions now and in one month's time, you will see a reversal, 'di ba,” the President said. He added that he believes there is already “a dramatic increase in economic activity” in areas that have been targeted by his administration's flagship anti-poverty program, the conditional cash transfer. Last Tuesday, the National Statistical Coordination Board revealed that poverty incidence in the country during the first half of 2012 was at 27.9 percent—a slight improvement from 2009's 28.6 percent. The figure, however, had no statistical difference to the poverty incidence in 2006, which was recorded at 28.8 percent. The announcement of the latest poverty figures came on the heels of record performance by the local stock market, which posted a 7,120.48 on Monday afternoon. Deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte earlier appealed to Filipinos to give the Aquino administration three more years to promote inclusive growth in the country. — BM, GMA News