Poor Filipinos
AN estimated 2.32 million Filipinos joined the ranks of the country’s poor last year due to the crippling effects of the lingering coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The COVID-19-induced economic slowdown displaced many workers not only in the Philippines but throughout the world, including the major manpower importers.
In fact, many of the displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including health professionals, are still in the country awaiting word from their foreign employers.
“Hindi nga namin alam kung kailan kami pababalikin ng aming mga employer kasi nandiyan pa naman ang COVID-19,” according to a relative of a displaced OFW.
Preliminary results of the 2021 family income and expenditure survey showed that the poverty rate had worsened that year to 18.8 percent from 16.7 percent in 2018.
Last year, there were 19.99 million Filipinos living below the poverty line or an increase of 2.32 million compared to the 2018 figure of 17.67 million, according to the survey.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released the 2021 survey results only last Monday.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the effects of the pandemic, including income and employment losses, caused the poverty incidence to increase.
Balisacan said restrictions on mobility and low earning capacity of poor households due to limited access to regular and productive jobs made the lives of Filipinos difficult.
But the impoverished Filipino people are confident that the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. is well-prepared to address these challenges.
