PHL needs higher growth for poverty reduction — NEDA

The economy must grow at a faster rate than it currently does if poverty reduction is to be achieved, the head of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Monday. “If we want real per capita incomes to increase twofold in 15 years, we must grow by 6.7 percent annually on the average,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan during a business forum at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Balisacan stressed that growth in the past has not been sustained over a long period, and that poverty reduction in the country has been slow and not responsive to growth: there was continuous economic growth from 2000 to 2009, but the proportion of poor Filipinos during the period remained steady instead of going down, he said. “We suffer from having high income inequality, which indicates that economic gains have not been broadly distributed across the different sectors of our population,” he said. “Opportunities remain unequal, in terms of access to health and education services, market infrastructure,” he added. Balisacan also noted that the Aquino administration has committed to ensuring rapid, sustained and inclusive growth. But with the unemployment rate remaining at 7 percent for two years now as of July 2012 even with "very commendable economic growth, low and stable inflation, fiscal prudence, sound macroeconomic fundamentals, and high consumer and business optimism," Balisacan admitted that this will be quite a formidable task. — BM, GMA News