MANILA — The number of Filipinos living below the poverty threshold fell from 17.54 million in 2023 to 11.08 million in 2025, meaning about 6.5 million people moved above the line over two years, according to Philippine Statistics Authority data.
Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto highlighted the figures, saying the next task is to make the gains hold.
“Ang susunod na hamon ay tiyaking tuloy-tuloy ang kanilang pag-angat,” Recto said, pointing to jobs, higher take-home pay, lower costs and wider economic opportunity as priorities.
A single-digit rate, three years early
The PSA put poverty incidence at 9.7 per cent in 2025 — the lowest on record and the first time the figure has fallen below one in 10 Filipinos. The Department of Economy, Planning and Development said the single-digit target under the Philippine Development Plan was reached three years ahead of schedule.
“For the first time, fewer than one in 10 Filipinos is living below the poverty line,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
Where the line sits
The poverty threshold is an income floor, not a measure of comfort. GMA News reported the PSA line at about P14,634 a month for a family — the amount needed to cover basic food and non-food requirements. A household earning slightly above that is counted as non-poor.
The caveat in the numbers
Analysts have cautioned against reading the milestone as durable. Rappler noted that millions of Filipinos sit close enough to the line that a single shock — illness, job loss, a typhoon — could push them back below it. Commentary in Manila Bulletin questioned whether a 9.7 per cent figure reflects the lived experience of most Filipinos.
For provinces such as Negros Oriental, where farming and fishing households dominate the low-income bracket, the relevant question is less the national average than whether local incomes are moving with it.
What our readers said
Breaking News Negros Oriental reviewed 390 comments left on its own coverage of this story. The most common theme was criticism of government or officials, appearing in 28 of 384 comments carrying text — about 7 per cent.
Other recurring themes were sympathy, prayers or condolence (26), questions about timing or priorities (16), appreciation or thanks (13), politics, campaigning or elections (9).
Themes were identified by keyword analysis of comment text. The sample reflects the reaction of this publication’s readers rather than a scientific survey of public opinion, and individual commenters are not identified.
Reporting by Breaking News Negros Oriental. Background drawn from published reports by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philstar, GMA News, Rappler and Manila Bulletin, citing Philippine Statistics Authority data.
