Fact check: Was there ‘no poor Filipino’ during the Martial Law of Marcos?

- A social media post claimed that there was “no poor Filipino” during the time former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law

- The post also said that poverty in the country was experienced during the terms of the Aquinos

- However, it has been reported that the claim was misleading

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A photo circulating on social media has claimed that there was no poor Filipino during the time of Martial Law.

However, KAMI learned that this claim was misleading.

In a report by Rappler, the post also mentioned that the poverty in the Philippines was evident during the terms of former Presidents Cory Aquino and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

"Walang Pilipinong naghirap noong panahon ng Batas Militar o Martial Law,” it read in the text.

“Ang tunay na kahirapan naranasan noong panahon [ng] mga Aquino,” it added.

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The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recorded the earliest poverty data in 1985, a year before Marcos ended his term in 1986. It showed that the poverty incidence in families in 1985 was 44.2%.

Meanwhile, the poverty incidence during the time of Cory in 1991 was at 39.9%. In 2015 during the time of Noynoy, the poverty incidence in families was only at 16.5%.

According to a World Bank report in 1995, the poverty incidence in families was already high even before Marcos became the president. However, it barely changed during the first half of his term.

You may read more about the World Bank report here.

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. was the 10th President of the Philippines. He came into power in 1965 and was ousted in 1986. Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972.

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Source: KAMI.com.gh