00:00Even the Philippine Statistics Authority admitted that it is difficult to calculate the estimated income of a family of more than Php 13,000 per month
00:12so that it is not considered as poor.
00:14This is the so-called poverty threshold to count the poor in the country
00:20that has already decreased to more than 17 million Filipinos.
00:24Maki Pulido was right.
00:30In the 2023 Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippine Statistics Authority,
00:35so that it is not considered as poor, the income of a family of more than Php 13,873 per month should not decrease.
00:44This is the so-called average poverty threshold.
00:47The PSA said that this is enough to cover all the basic needs of a family of 5 members.
00:54The poverty threshold in each region will be different because the price of payments and expenses will be different.
01:00In Metro Manila, the poverty threshold is Php 15,713 monthly income.
01:05According to the PSA, 69% or almost Php 11,000 is for food.
01:11The rest is almost Php 5,000 for other expenses, such as massages, student transportation, electricity and water.
01:20What do you think, sir? Is it enough?
01:23Again, it is most likely insufficient, the minimum basic needs.
01:37The idea here is to see what progress we're making as a nation in terms of reducing the number of families and individuals from that threshold.
01:49Jason earns more than Php 15,000 per month as a construction worker.
01:54When he counts the expenses and their payments, it is more than his monthly income.
01:59In that case, they are saving the budget for food and he's just walking around so that he won't be massaged.
02:06There are fixed expenses, such as house, water and electricity.
02:09We cannot reduce it, so we need to find other ways to reduce it.
02:16In order to cover the expenses, he needs to borrow money.
02:20We really have a lot of debts.
02:22We pay our debts every week.
02:27According to this account, he cannot save or pay for his medical bills.
02:31That's why Monica is worried. She's also a minimum wage earner because she's about to give birth.
02:36Of course, I have to pay for the hospital bills, for the child, and for the medicines that I need to buy.
02:45The poverty threshold in 2023 is higher than in 2021.
02:50Do you think your statistics reflect the real situation that Filipinos face?
02:56Wait. The numbers, because we said numbers don't lie.
03:00We reduced the poverty from Php 19.9 million to Php 17.52 million.
03:09That's the number. There is a reduction.
03:12What does that mean?
03:14It means that while our threshold increased because of food prices, our income also increased.
03:21I agree the threshold might be low, but if we set it at that threshold,
03:26there is still a decrease in terms of poverty incidence.
03:31For GMA Integrated News, Mackie Pulido, Katuto, 24 Hours.
03:42For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org
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