OPENING REMARKS OF ACTING SECRETARY KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA DURING THE #ASKNEDA BRIEFING ON THE UPDATED PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2017-2022

We started 2020 with a strong foundation and the country was likely to become an upper-middle income country in 2020 if not for COVID-19. Between 2015 and 2018, poverty fell from 23.5 percent to 16.7 percent of the population, lifting six million Filipinos from poverty, or four years ahead of our 2022 target.