Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, chief of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the nine percent goal by 2028 will be accomplished by creating quality jobs and improving the social protection system, among others.
“But associated with that would be the generation of not just more jobs but higher quality jobs. And those two, growths and jobs and paying attention to social protection to address shocks like typhoons and crises… to enable us to achieve faster reduction of poverty from where it is today to single digit, at nine percent actually,” he said in a meeting in Malacañang.
Balisacan said this target is part of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which will be presented by the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in December this year.
The PDP sets the government’s eight-point program and contains targets and actionable plans that will help the country pursue a greener economy and more sustainable, affordable and livable residential areas in the next six years.
Balisacan said the plan involves actionable strategies to develop the domestic market considering its vast potential for both foreign and local investors.
Marcos earlier noted the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) displaying a rebound growth rate of 5.7 percent in 2021 and a 7.8 percent average growth rate for the first half of 2022.
Balisacan expressed confidence that there is a reason for optimism as the Philippines’ rapid growth recovery is firming up despite global headwinds and the challenges of faster inflation rate.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said in October that the poverty incidence in the country was at 18.1 percent in 2021, translating to around 19.99 million poor Filipinos.
It said a Filipino needed at least P2,406 on average per month to meet his or her basic food and non-food needs in 2021. (LMY/With PR)