A LAWMAKER on Sunday slammed the Marcos administration over its presentation of the latest poverty data, questioning the government’s claim of a historic decline in poverty even as more Filipino families reported experiencing hunger and poverty.
In a statement, Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio said that the government should not use the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2025 poverty figures to claim progress as more families continue reporting financial hardship in 2026.
“You cannot claim victory over poverty while 5.6 million Filipino families are going hungry under your watch,” Mr. Tinio said.
The PSA earlier reported that poverty incidence fell to 9.7% in 2025, which meant around 6.5 million Filipinos had been lifted out of poverty.
Mr. Tinio, however, pointed to an Octa Research survey for the second quarter of 2026 showing that 39% of Filipino families, or about 10.3 million households, considered themselves poor.
He also questioned the adequacy of the PSA’s poverty threshold, which he said was too low to reflect the actual cost of living faced by Filipino families.
“The threshold is pegged so low that anyone who manages to eat a handful of rice and a piece of dried fish is considered non-poor,” Mr. Tinio said.
The lawmaker called on the government to focus on measures that would directly improve household income, including higher wages, greater support for farmers and fisherfolk, and expanded social protection programs. — Pexcel John Bacon