NEDA: Reducing poverty to 14% achieved in 2023 or 2024

The Duterte administration’s goal of reducing poverty incidence to 14% by the end of its term this year will probably be achieved by the next administration as the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) projects the target to be hit by 2023 or 2024.

At the Philippine Economic Briefing on Tuesday, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the government “actually adjusted the poverty targets to take into account the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The government adjusted its poverty incidence rate target to 15.5% to 17.5% from 14% after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed 3.9 million more Filipinos to poverty as the poverty incidence rate increased to 23.7% as of the first half of 2021 from 21.1% in the same period of 2018.

“The original target of between 13% and 15% of poverty reduction would be achieved in 2023 or 2024,” Edillon said.

The NEDA official said by the end of the Duterte administration, the poverty incidence rate “would still be much lower than the 2018 numbers,” noting that official figures will be released by the third quarter of the year.—AOL, GMA News