The billions of pesos which will have been lost to alleged graft-ridden flood control projects could have funded social services, including the health and education sectors, helping to handle the country’s glaring inequality between the wealthy and the poor, based on Motion for Economic Reforms (AER).
“The billions of pesos could have saved so many lives in the event that they had gone to our public hospitals and to our PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance) advantages,” Sofia Beatriz “Pia” Rodrigo, advocacy and communications lead of AER, told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of its report launch in partnership with Oxfam Pilipinas on Tuesday.
“It could have saved so many young children from dying of malnutrition and funded their education,” she added.
The report titled “Inequality at a Breaking Point: A Call to Embed Equality within the Philippines’ Economic Agenda” found that the Philippines ranked fifteenth out of 63 countries in income inequality, based on the World Bank’s 2021 report.
It also noted that the country remained one of the crucial unequal within the Southeast Asian region.
The report also cited findings of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which showed that the richest 10% of the population earned greater than double, or 115% more, than the poorest 40% in 2023.
“So for each peso earned by the poorest Filipinos, the richest earn around 150 pesos,” Mai Lagman, policy advocacy and communications manager of Oxfam Pilipinas, said through the event.
Amongst the important thing drivers of the country’s prevailing inequality are the dearth of quality jobs—meaning everlasting, skills-based jobs—in addition to limited access to education and healthcare, Ms. Rodrigo said.
She identified that by way of health, Filipinos’ out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses remain the third highest within the Southeast Asian (SEA) region at 45.5% as of 2021.
Filipino students are also lagging behind, with 76% to 84% scoring below the minimum proficiency level in science, reading, and math, Ms. Rodrigo said, citing the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 report.
To shut the inequality, Filomeno Sta. Ana III, executive director of AER said that the pursuit of economic growth is just not enough.
“While high growth has contributed to poverty reduction in East Asia, the Philippine experience highlights that growth alone is insufficient without equitable access to opportunities and robust redistributive policies,” Mr. Sta. Ana said.
The Motion for Economic Reforms (AER) can be pushing for higher sin taxes on alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and vapes to assist generate additional funding for the health sector.
The group said the federal government may likewise explore the imposition of wealth taxes on the country’s top richest.
Ms. Rodrigo added that the Philippines must enterprise into latest industries that harness emerging technologies resembling artificial intelligence (AI), as a substitute of relying solely on manufacturing.
Also, Oxfam and AER called for the total accountability of those involved within the alleged flood control project anomalies, saying the scheme has robbed the nation of public funds and opportunities. — Edg Adrian A. Eva