Philippines: A Strategy to Fight Poverty

The Philippines is entering a new and promising phase in the struggle to lift its people out of poverty. This report is an attempt to crystallize key, and as yet unresolved, issues in the hope of stimulating an informed dialogue within the government and within key groups (including nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and local government officials).

The paper:

• Reviews past progress toward poverty alleviation and the current extent and severity of the problem. In the Philippines, poverty is overwhelmingly a rural problem. Over half the rural population is poor, accounting for nearly two thirds of the country's total;
• Examines the dimensions and cause of rural poverty and looks into possible solutions. Finds that urban poverty is less severe than rural poverty and that the urban poor are more likely to benefit rapidly and directly from accelerated growth. In addition, access to health and educational services is better in urban areas;
• Reviews the level of human capital amongst the poor and government efforts to improve it;
• Examines "safety nets" or the efforts of government to improve the well being of the poor through food subsidies, employment- creating public works programs, "livelihood development," and small scale credit programs;
• Summarizes proposed poverty strategies and outlines the role of central and local governments in the new era of devolution, in conjunction with the continued strong presence of NGOs.