This translates to some 20 million poor Filipinos living below the Php12,030 monthly poverty threshold for a family of five. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported population poverty incidence increasing from 16.7% in 2018 to 18.1% in 2021. And, in an anecdotal way, the desperate crowds that massed up to try and get a little more cash for their families also points to how disconnected official statistics are from people’s daily realities. The full year 2021 poverty figures released last week are a case in point. Why is the government giving so little help? Part of the reason must be because official statistics make them only see so little needing help. Most went home empty-handed from a haphazard program that will probably not reach even just 1% of the student population. Last weekend, one of these crowds ended in a stampede that hurt at least 29 parents and students. Huge crowds immediately swarmed outside social welfare department offices across the country after the department secretary announced Friday that they would give out a few thousand pesos in educational assistance.
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December 2022
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