National Economic Development Authority-Central Visayas Regional Director Efren Carreon (Photo by Judy F. Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Regional Director Efren Carreon of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in Region 7 (Central Visayas) on Tuesday announced a positive economic outlook for Negros Oriental, considering the drop in the province’s poverty incidence rate over the recent years.
Carreon, in an interview with reporters after the public hearing here on the proposed minimum wage adjustment in the region, noted that the poverty incidence in Negros Oriental was pegged at 26 percent in 2018.
In 2015, the province’s poverty rate was at 30 percent, he said.
“If the poverty incident drops, we can say that there are households or families whose standard of living has gone up,” Carreon said in the Cebuano dialect.
“Based on the figures, we at NEDA are happy with this because of these families’ freedom from poverty,” he added.
Carreon, however, said that NEDA still wants to bring down the poverty incidence of Negros Oriental from the current 26 percent to perhaps 10 percent or even lower.
The official noted of a number of factors that contributed to the decline in Negros Oriental’s poverty incidence such as efforts of the government, the role of the private sector, more job opportunities, income through employment or business, and even skills training offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that qualifies a person for overseas employment.
Carreon, however, said there is also a bit of downside to a positive economic outlook.
He said as earlier discussed during the public hearing, there is a notable dwindling in the number of construction workers and “kasambahay” or house helpers.
Possibly, these workers now have other employment options with better wages, Carreon said. (PNA)
