One major problem which the Philippines has been facing until now is poverty. It remains a critical social problem that really needs to be addressed. The government has planned a lot of ways in order to eradicate poverty in the Philippines but still it can’t be felt by the Filipino people. Under the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), the Philippines committed itself to having extreme poverty from 33.1 % in 1991 to 16.6% by 2015.

Here is the list of some of the main causes of poverty in the Philippines:

> High level of population growth
Overpopulation is a very undesirable condition where the number of human population exceeds the capacity of a certain place. This may lead to an increase in demand of every individual which the society will not be able to supply, especially the economy of the Philippines.

> Low to moderate economic growth
Economic growth is affected by a lot of factors which may lead to success or failure of a certain country. The Philippines has a consistent low to moderate economic growth which makes poverty very evident, but the country is striving for high economic growth to eradicate this problem.

> Unemployment
This is due to competition in the labor market. More graduates, yet less employment opportunities, or its either what they have graduated for is not suited for the available jobs, this is very common in the Philippines.

> High inflation during crisis periods

> Economic crisis, conflicts, natural disasters and environmental poverty

Poverty is the most severe and most widespread problem, especially in rural areas in the Philippines. In general, more than one third of the people in the Philippines live in poverty. Between the different places in the cities and provinces in the Philippines, there are substantial differences in the level of poverty.

Poverty in the Philippines still remains a challenge. For the past four decades, the proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly and unevenly, and poverty reduction has been much slower than in neighboring countries such as Thailand, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

To definitely eradicate poverty in the Philippines, there should be an acceleration of poverty reduction and achieve more inclusive growth in the government. There should be an enhancement in the government’s poverty reduction strategy. The government should pursue key economic reforms for sustained and inclusive growth.


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