ECONOMIC growth is not enough to alleviate poverty. In 2013 the Philippines emerged as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia and second only to China in Asia. Growth in 2014 is projected to be lower than the 7.2 percent posted in 2013, but the Philippines is still expected to be among the best performers in the region this year.
Yet, the percentage of Filipinos living below the poverty line has remained almost unchanged in the past six years, according to the latest poverty data released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).
NSCB Secretary-General Jose Ramon G. Albert reported in 2013 that poverty incidence among Filipinos was estimated at 27.9 percent in the first semester of 2012. Comparing this with the 2006 and 2009 first-semester figures, estimated at 28.8 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, he said poverty remained unchanged, as the computed differences were not statistically significant.
Poverty is also linked to employment. In fact, the NSCB measures the poverty rate based on how much people earn. The NSCB pointed out that, in the first semester of 2012, a Filipino family of five needed P5,458 to meet basic food needs every month and P7,821 to stay above the poverty threshold (basic food and nonfood needs) every month. These respective amounts represent the food and poverty thresholds, which increased by 11.1 percent from the first semester of 2009 to the first half of 2012, compared with the 26-percent increase between the first semesters of 2006 and 2009.
In a separate report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated the unemployment rate in July at 6.7 percent, lower than the 7.3 percent posted in the same month last year. The underemployment rate, which refers to people who work for less than 40 hours a week, was estimated at 60 percent in July, up from 56.9 percent a year ago.
In recent years, we have also seen the link between poverty and the environment. The floods that plague Metro Manila cause huge losses in income and productivity, as people are prevented from going to work and businesses are forced to close.
Not all the flooding in Metro Manila and other urban areas are caused by extreme weather disturbances, like typhoons. In fact, a couple of hours of rain in the metropolis quickly turn major thoroughfares into rivers, disrupting the daily routine of businessmen, workers and students. The main culprit is the huge amount of trash that clogs the drainage systems and prevents rainwater from following its natural course to the rivers and the sea.
I am no longer in public office, but I continue my advocacies, especially poverty alleviation, through my businesses and my family’s foundation, the SIPAG Foundation.
Building houses is a labor-intensive industry, so, in my own little way, I contribute to employment generation. I am also expanding in the retail business, including the construction of malls, which creates employment opportunities; and in the office-building segment for the business-process outsourcing industry, another big employer.
Back to the issue of trash, I have found that poverty alleviation and environment protection as a good combination. About 10 years ago in Las Piñas City, we launched livelihood programs for poor families who collected plastic bottles and containers, as well as coconut husks and shells.
Instead of clogging the drainage system, these waste materials were pulverized and turned into construction materials, as well as school chairs. The coconut husks were used to produce coconets, which proved useful in preventing soil erosion. Even the water hyacinth, a perennial problem in many rivers, was turned into many products, such as baskets, bags and tablecloths.
The SIPAG Foundation has expanded these livelihood enterprises to different areas of the country, where they also provide livelihood (which lifts them out of poverty) and, at the same time, protect the environment. Good combination, indeed.
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