In a statement during the presentation of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) cited the social protection programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) such as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Social Pension, and Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) as contributory to the reduction of poverty incidence by providing additional income to the poorest sector of the society.

The PSA reported on December 6, 2019 that the official poverty statistics among Filipino population dipped to 16.6 percent in 2018 from 23. 3 percent in 2015. On the other hand, subsistence incidence among Filipinos, or the proportion of Filipinos whose income is not enough to meet even the basic food needs, also dropped to 5.2 percent in 2018 from 9.1 in 2015.

Recognizing the contribution of these social protection programs in the reduction of poverty incidence is an affirmation that the efforts of the Department to improve the lives of our fellow Filipino citizens, especially the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable are gaining traction. The Department commits to continue its effort of converging with different government agencies and stakeholders to win the battle of reducing poverty incidence to 14% by 2022.

DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista during the kick-off activity for the Department’s 69^th Anniversary on January 6 expressed his appreciation for the recognition.

“Ipinakita lamang po ng mainam na balita na ito na nagbunga ang ating mga pagsisikap upang makapagbigay ng mapagkalingang serbisyo at nakaktuwang malaman  na lahat ng ito ang kinikilala ito ng kapwa nating Pilipino.” -30-