The Philippines has done better in the global corruption index ranking as well as in GDP (gross domestic product) growth during the P-Noy administration than during the Arroyo administration. But still, the poverty situation in the country has not significantly improved. This is because poverty reduction is made possible within the combined parameters of GDP growth, inclusive growth, perception of less corruption and balanced development among the three sectors of the economy—agriculture, manufacturing, services.
During the Arroyo administration, the country’s Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI) based on the Transparency International reports, where the highest score is 100 for countries perceived to have a low level of corruption, slightly worsened from a score of 26 in 2002 to 24 in 2009, yet the
Self-Rated Poverty based on the Social Weather Stations report went down from the quarterly average of 63 percent of families in 2002 to 49 percent in 2009. On the other hand, under the P-Noy administration, the CPI rose from 24 in 2010 to 38 in 2014, but the Self-Rated Poverty worsened from the a quarterly average of 48 percent in 2010 to 54 percent in 2014.
This implies that the slogan “Kung Walang Kurap, Walang Mahirap” doesn’t hold water and that our present economic growth is not just not inclusive but also biased in favor of the service sector, resulting in the underdevelopment of agriculture which is still considered as the backbone of the economy, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Therefore, significant improvement in the poverty situation within the remaining one-and-a-half years of the P-Noy administration cannot be expected.
—EDMUNDO ENDEREZ,
eenderez@gmail.com