Senator Risa Hontiveros stated that the P64 per day food threshold computed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is both insulting to the citizens and disheartening. | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Claiming that having the means to spend more than P64 for three meals everyday translates to not being “food poor” is both insulting and saddening.
This was the reaction of Senator Risa Hontiveros to the P64 food poor threshold disclosed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
During the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) briefing at the Senate on Tuesday, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan revealed that the food poverty threshold is now at P64.
In 2021, the country’s food poor threshold was at P55. Two years later, it went up to P63.
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The threshold now is P64 a day for three meals, or roughly P21.3 per meal per person, according to Balisacan.
This revelation quickly caused a stir among the members of the community, with some slamming the low food poverty threshold as it underestimates the needs of the public.
Hontiveros also expressed disbelief over the low threshold she described to be unrealistic.
During a press conference in Cebu City on Friday, August 16, she said that it was both “insulting” and “saddening.”
More realistic data
“Syempre nakakainsulto sa marami at higit są lahat, nakakalungkot. Kasi kung ganun lang yung akala nating kailangan so ganun din lang ang aambisyonin natin bilang isang bansa at ng ating gobyerno. Eh san na tayo pupulutin nun diba?,” stated Hontiveros.
“Kaya talagang itinanong namin yan dun sa DBCC briefing na taon-taon simula ng aming budget debates. Kasi tayo ba, halos kaya ba natin kumain ng isang meal mag-isa natin na P64? Ano pa kaya limang tao three meals a day?,” she added.
Hontiveros called for a more realistic data on the minimum budget that a Filipino needs to eat regularly.
She explained that this is necessary for the government to be able to adjust their future projects to the current needs of the people.
“Maging mas realistic naman tayo sa kung ano talaga ang minimum na kailangan ng bawat Pilipino para kumain ng malusog [at] mabuhay nang makatao. Para din itaas naman naming lahat na nagtatrabaho sa gobyerno yung targets namin in terms of nutrition, food security, poverty alleviation,” relayed Hontiveros.
Food secure
Meanwhile, former senator Kiko Pangilinan said that whoever made the computations should be fired.
Pangilinan also suggested for a reconfiguration of the calculations as the P21 amount per meal number cannot be justified as being “food secure.”
“Hindi ko maintindihan yung kalokohang yun…I don’t see the logic. I don’t see the science. I don’t see the reality in such a computation. I think whoever did this deserves to be fired, whoever worked on these numbers. And for Secretary Balisacan, I suggest you, NEDA goes back to the drawing board, re-configure your computations. Because I don’t see how you can justify P21 a meal as being food secured,” he stated.
Balisacan, however, previously admitted that the number was outdate despite it being adjusted for inflation.
Hontiveros, Pangilinan, along with former Senator Bam Aquino and Lawyer Chel Diokno, collectively held a press conference in Cebu City on Friday to share their views on the various issues faced by Filipinos.
/With a report from Inquirer.net