Philippines claims to have alleviated poverty from 6 million Filipinos

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said around six million Filipinos rose from poverty as the government continues to beef up spending on social welfare.

The statistics agency of the Philippines reported around 17.6 million Filipinos (or 16.6% of the country’s population) were poor in 2018. The figures were compared to that of the 2015 record of 23.3% poverty incidence, accounting for about 23.5 million people, as the report revealed on Friday.

The threshold income for the poor Filipino family of five members was at 10,727 pesos ($211), according to the agency as lifted from its triennial survey.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was first seated in 2016, was reported to have increased the budget and spending on health and education, as well as leveling infrastructure projects to create more jobs. Philippines’ economic growth is also observed as one of the fastest-growing in Asia in the past 10 years, with a 6% expansion annually.