Fishers group slams NEDA ‘food-poor’ threshold as unrealistic

A fisherfolk group on Wednesday questioned the National Economic and Development Authority's (NEDA) calculation that a person is no longer "food-poor" if they can spend more than P64 for their daily food intake. 

In a statement, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) slammed the threshold as unrealistic, saying the threshold is placed low “to justify low wages and to allow the government to evade its responsibility to provide cash incentive to indigent sectors.” 

“Isang kilong bigas at isang itlog lamang ang mabibili ng P64. Paano ‘yan pagkakasyahin ng indibidwal sa isang maghapon?” said Pamalakaya vice chairperson Ronnel Arambulo. 

(You can only buy a kilo of rice and an egg for P64. How can an individual make do with that for a day?)

“Napakalayo sa riyalidad ang datos ng NEDA sa klasipikasyon ng pagiging ‘food poor.’ Sadyang pinabababa ang basehan ng pagiging mahirap para bigyang-katwiran ang napakababang pasahod sa mga manggagawa, at makaiwas ang gobyerno sa responsibilidad nitong magbigay ng ayuda at suporta sa mga naghihirap na sektor,” Arambulo said. 

(NEDA's classification for what qualifies as "food poor" is so far from reality. The threshold is deliberately low to justify low wages and to allow the government to evade its responsibility to provide the poor sector with aid and support.)

During the first day of the Senate hearing on the proposed 2025 budget on Tuesday, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan was asked the current threshold for one to be classified as "food-poor."

"As of 2023, a monthly food threshold for a family of five is P9,581. It comes out about P64 per person," Balisacan said, adding that the amount would cover three daily meals per person.

This amount has increased since 2021 where the "food poor" threshold was P55 per person and it is expected to increase to P67 in 2025, according to the NEDA chief.

Balisacan said they are only changing the threshold based on inflation so they can monitor if the policies of the government on poverty are effective.

"The reason we are keeping it constant, in real terms after adjusting for inflation, is just to ensure that we are tracking properly the changes and allow us to understand whether our policies, our programs are working insofar as these are able to reduce poverty," he said.

This prompted senators to urge the NEDA to review their threshold to ensure that the poverty forecast is accurate.

"There are certain things that need to be constant, but there are certain things that have to be adjusted because when you compute poverty thresholds using an old number which is obviously not workable anymore, P20 per meal, eh hindi totoo 'yung poverty forecast [then the poverty forecast cannot be true]," Senator Grace Poe said.

Balisacan agreed that it is about time to revisit their threshold.

Philippine Statistics Authority chief Claire Dennis Mapa explained that the government arrived at the threshold "after costing the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (prepared by nutritionist) that will give the required energy and nutrients."

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) likewise criticized the government’s new individual threshold. — BM, GMA Integrated News