NEDA to review P64 'food poor' threshold, solon says

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will review the P64-a-day per person threshold, which has drawn flak from the public, according to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) budget sponsor Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia.

“According to NEDA, they will review the P64 per person per day threshold,” De Venecia said during the interpellation for the 2025 proposed budget of DTI.

De Venecia explained that the P64 “food poor” threshold does not include indirect costs such as the liquefied petroleum gas used for cooking and transportation to buy ingredients.

He added that the budget is also for food prepared at home and not for buying food at restaurants, fast food, and eateries.

READ: How gov't arrived at P64-a-day threshold that keeps one from being ‘food-poor’  

During a Senate hearing for the 2025 budget, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said a monthly food threshold for a family of five is 9,581 pesos, which is equivalent to P64 per person. 

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) slammed the threshold as unrealistic as it justifies low wages and allows the government to evade its responsibility to provide cash incentives to the poor.

Meanwhile, development organization IBON Foundation has called for a more realistic food poverty threshold. 

“What is important is that NEDA already committed. Irerevisit po nila yung (they will revisit the) methodology,” De Venecia said.

He added that the DTI has projects to help the public acquire basic needs like the Diskento Caravan, which helps consumers purchase basic goods at a discount, and food terminals, where farmers can sell their goods directly to institutional retailers.

The Philippine Statistics Authority has admitted that the P64 “food poor” threshold was insufficient to meet nutritional or dietary requirements in a day. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/ VAL, GMA Integrated News