Manila: The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) welcomed the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) 2025 Family Income and Expenditure Survey results, which show the national poverty incidence dropped to 9.7 percent from 15.5 percent in 2023.

According to Philippines News Agency, NAPC Lead Convenor and Secretary Lope Santos III attributed the achievement of a single-digit poverty incidence to the collective commitment and hard work of various stakeholders. He emphasized the role of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s approach, stating, "The achievement of a single-digit poverty incidence well before the 2028 goal outlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 is because of our collective commitment and hard work."

Santos extended his gratitude to government agencies, the basic sectors, local government units, and development partners for their steadfast partnership and leadership in the anti-poverty drive. He urged that progress should reflect the lived realities of communities and highlighted the importance of sustaining interventions in areas such as access to quality education, health, nutrition, human capital development, agriculture, and food security.

Identifying governance as a crucial element in poverty eradication, Santos called for expanded access to social services, increased public investment in infrastructure, and stronger private-sector partnerships to encourage investment. He also emphasized building community resilience against external shocks through strengthened disaster risk reduction and management programs, emergency assistance, and peace efforts.

Santos praised the transformative vision of Marcos, which has spurred economic development from the national to the local level, and expressed hope that stakeholders will "redouble their efforts to achieve bigger targets and maintain strong collective action" for Filipinos in the coming years.