poverty

Severe Income Inequality in the Philippines (2)

June 19, 2018

Aside from only a few super-rich families holding one half of total Filipino family income, there is a huge gap between how much majority of ordinary Filipino households earn monthly, and that of the country’s top earners. But government’s market-oriented policies tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, such as slapping more […]

Time for govt to come up with realistic poverty threshold – IBON

June 8, 2018

Research group IBON said that it is about time for government to update its poverty threshold to reflect a more realistic poverty reduction target. This is in light of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ernesto Pernia’s recent statement that Php42,000 a month is “a decent income at least to live above the poverty […]

TRAIN worsens burden of inflation on poor – IBON

June 7, 2018

Almost 18 million Filipino families are already hard-pressed to survive on incomes below the family living wage of Php30,000 per month estimated by IBON Research group IBON said that higher prices as reflected in the accelerating May 2018 inflation bears heavily on the poor, and that the recently passed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion […]

Stop over-relying on foreign investments, government told

June 4, 2018

Soon after the enactment of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, research group IBON said that the Duterte government should not depend on foreign investments for economic progress and job generation. For expediency, the Ease of Doing Business Act or Republic Act (RA) 11032 simplifies the application process for the […]

Severe Income Inequality in the Philippines

May 20, 2018

Despite being relatively high compared to other Asian countries, Philippine economic growth is lopsided in the interest of a few at the expense of the majority of poor Filipinos. High levels of wealth are concentrated in the hands of a few, while family incomes have stagnated in real terms, especially amid rising prices.

UCTs only temporary

March 11, 2018

DOF said TRAIN will be ‘manageable’ since there would be unconditional cash transfers (UCT) for 10 million poor households. However, UCT is at Php200 per month in 2018 and 2019 then becomes Php300 per month in 2020. It is discontinued in 2021, when the poorest Filipino families will be confronted by markedly higher prices that […]

2018 prosperity by Duterte policies not for all—IBON

January 2, 2018

Admin’s avid push for market-driven measures will run over the poor majority The new year seems to usher in more difficulties for Filipinos in accessing basic goods, public utilities, and services amid government’s exclusionary policies, research group IBON said. The market-driven policies that have been prioritized by the Duterte government such as the Tax Reform […]

Four years after Yolanda: Better lives for whom?

November 2, 2017

It has been four years since super-typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck several provinces in the Eastern Visayas region. After the huge influx of aid, it may be hard to believe but a huge percentage of the survivors still live in temporary shelters, are underserved in terms of social services and public utilities, and are either unemployed […]

Rehashed neoliberal policies: One year of Dutertenomics

June 28, 2017

The Philippines is in a worsening socio-economic crisis. The direction of economic policies under the Duterte administration is alarming and in urgent need of correction. The government’s economic team still uses the anti-development policy framework of past administrations which will mean greater economic distress for the majority of Filipinos. The economy’s poor performance since June […]