Incoming Philippine president vows to have inclusive growth to benefit the poor

The Philippines' president-elect Rodrigo Duterte has said he will make sure that economic growth in the next six years will bring benefits to the poor, local media reported on Monday.

In an exclusive interview with the country's daily newspaper, the Philippine Star, Duterte said that his government must work for a continued and inclusive growth.

The Philippines boasted a 6.9-percent growth in the first quarter of this year, the country's statistics authority has reported.

But critics have said that the growth further enriched the superrich and widened the gap between the wealthy few and the vulnerable masses who struggle daily to keep body and soul together.

According to finance secretary designate Carlos Dominguez, the poverty rate in the Philippines has reached over 25 percent of a population of more than 100 million.

Dominguez said the incoming Duterte government will work to achieve continued and more inclusive growth that the people would feel, especially the marginalized sectors of society.

"We must find ways to make economic growth actually work for the poor," he said. Endit