MANILA -- Measures implemented by the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos helped manage the poverty level in September, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director-general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Saturday.

In a statement, Balisacan clarified that self-rated poverty estimates as presented by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) in its September report are not comparable with the government’s official poverty estimates based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) surveys.

An SWS survey conducted on September 29 to October 2 showed that 49 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as poor, from 48 percent in June; 29 percent as borderline, from 31 percent in June; and 21 percent as not poor, similar to the rating in June.

Balisacan said the slight increase in self-rated poverty in September compared to June, was “expected, given the acceleration of inflation, particularly in food and transport” during the period.

The government’s chief socioeconomic planner further noted that the increase could have been higher if not for the further opening up of the economy and the government’s distribution of targeted subsidies for low-income households, public utility drivers, and the farming and fishery sectors.

“Note that inflation has been coming partly from external factors, including global supply disruptions caused by the Ukraine-Russia war,” he said, adding that these factors have also induced inflation in our Asian neighbors.

“Moving forward, we need to speed up providing financial assistance to the poor [and] most vulnerable groups, implementing our food production enhancement programs, and executing timely food importation,” Balisacan pointed out.

The President has earlier allayed concerns about soaring inflation rates as he noted that the overall inflation forecast for the Philippines is still better than other countries.

In an earlier statement, Balisacan explained that essential commodities and inputs for food value chains are experiencing substantial supply constraints which he attributed to two factors: the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the series of natural calamities that have dampened agricultural production in many countries, including the Philippines.

As a result, Balisacan pointed out that inflation has remained persistently high globally, driven by rapid price increases in food, transportation, and energy.

The Philippines and our Asian neighbors, he said, are not spared from these trends – major economies in the ASEAN, such as Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, have seen their inflation rates accelerate in the past year.

Balisacan, however, expects the rise in inflation to be temporary, as it is expected to slow down and return to the medium-term target of 2% to 4%.

This outlook is borne out by the World Bank’s recently released October forecast for 2022 and 2023: it expects the Philippines to grow by 6.5% in 2022, second only to Vietnam among major ASEAN economies, and by 5.8% in 2023 – again faster than Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. (OPS)