PSA reports 2.3 million more poor Filipinos

In the past three years, an additional 2.32 million Filipinos have joined the ranks of the underprivileged, raising the country’s poverty rate to 18.1% from 17.67% in 2018, according to a report released by e Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday, August 15.

About 19.99 million Filipinos were living below the poverty threshold in 2021, which is set at P12,030 per month for a household of five.

The PSA defines poverty incidence as the percentage of Filipinos whose per capita income is insufficient to meet their specific basic dietary and non-nutritional needs.

Socioeconomic Economic Planning Arsenio M. Balisacan has attributed the rise in poverty incidence to the pandemic-induced economic recession.