Balisacan 'bumped off the entourage to Brunei as excess baggage' due to poverty stats #juanvote

According to NSCB statistics, poverty incidence stood at 27.9 percent in the first semester of 2012—“practically unchanged” from the same period in 2009 (28.6 percent) and 2006 (28.8 percent). Although poverty incidence was unchanged in the past six years, the number of poor people was expected to be higher in 2012, in the midterm of the Aquino administration, because of the growing population. The Inquirer reported that Norio Usui, senior country economist for the Asian Development Bank, pointed out that the government must solve the problem of jobless growth if it hoped to reduce poverty.

“I am not surprised at all,” Usui told the Agence France-Presse. “The benefits of strong economic growth have not spilled over to the people because they still cannot find a job.” He added that the Philippines’  economic model was dependent on consumption, stronger remittances from its large overseas work force, and the business process outsourcing industry, which employs college graduates. However, the country’s weak industrial base has stood out in the region. “Why do you need a strong industrial base?” he said. “To give jobs not only to the highly educated college graduates, but also to  high school graduates.”

The Philippines, which has a population of 97 million, mostly poor, posted 6.6-percent GDP growth. How do these figures translate into poverty conditions? NSCB Secretary General Jose Albert told reporters at a briefing that during the first semester of 2012, a Filipino family of five needed P5,458 to meet basic food needs every month. Families earning that amount were considered to be living in “extreme poverty.”  The proportion of extreme poverty among families was largely unchanged from 10.8 percent in 2006, 10 percent in 2009, and 10 percent in 2012.

With these grim statistical data, Balisacan became a bearer of bad news. As the messenger of ill tidings, he took the brunt of presidential displeasure and so was bumped off the entourage to Brunei as excess  baggage.
 * * *

Above is an excerpt taken from the Inquirer.net article Why Balisacan was jettisoned.