THE poverty incident in the country dropped from 26.3 percent in the first half of 2015 to 21 percent in the first half of 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
In Cebu, the poverty incident dropped from 27 percent to 21.4 percent in the same period.
Noel Felongco, lead secretary of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), said the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development has been a great help in reducing the poverty incidence nationwide.
According to the National Economic and Development Authority, the main factor for the drop can be attributed to the growth of employment in the manufacturing and construction sectors as well as employment shifts to the industry and services sectors from agriculture.
Role
Ruperto Aleroza, vice chairman for the basic sector, said the role of the NAPC en banc is to provide solutions to issues and concerns of different sectors.
He encouraged Malacañang to regularly convene the NAPC en banc and engage with sectors to formulate immediate and long-term solutions to the poverty problem.
“That en banc meeting with the President is important. It will give opportunity to different sectors to directly address the President and the government agencies on various issues and concerns of the poor,” Aleroza said.
The en banc meeting, which is presided over by the President who is also chairman of the NAPC, discusses government policies and programs on poverty alleviation. JCT