News Analysis: Aquino boasts of economic gains in his last address to nation, but poverty still rampant

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on Monday cited economic gains as among the major accomplishments of his five-year-old administration, but poverty is still rampant in the country, according to recent surveys.

In his sixth and last State of the Nation Address delivered before a joint session of the Philippine Congress, Aquino highlighted the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the Philippines under his administration.

"If we reach 6.8 percent this 2015, then we will have posted the fastest six year average growth period in almost six decades," he said.

He added that the next administration should continue to promote his government's advocacy, saying the presidential election next year would be a referendum on the performance of his administration.

Aquino said the Philippines is now called Asia's Rising Tiger, Asia's Rising Star, Asia's Bright Spot as the country was unanimously deemed investment grade by most prominent credit rating agencies.

The country's economic competitiveness rankings, as measured by the World Economic Forum, have also improved to reach its highest level in nearly a decade, Aquino said.

He said that with improving debt and governance indicators, investment analysts have since acknowledged the marked improvement in the country's economic prospects and credit worthiness.

But despite impressive economic growth during the past few years, the Philippines continued to be among the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, according to London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

In a report, the EIU, the research division of the Economist Group, said the gap between the rich and poor in the Philippines has continued to widen.

"The Philippines will remain one of Southeast Asia's poorest economies, with a lower level of GDP per head than the majority of the region's other major economies," the EIU said.

The report said the Philippine economy will remain marked by wide inequalities of income and the "disparity between the richest and poorest households will stay particularly acute. Consequently, large numbers of Filipinos will continue to live in poverty."

The EIU findings confirmed the result of a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), a local survey firm, which showed that the number of Filipinos who consider themselves poor remain the same.

On Monday, the SWS released its 2015 second quarter survey result that showed some 11.2 million Filipino families who consider themselves poor while 8.1 million consider themselves food-poor. Endi