The Marcos administration has expressed optimism that it is possible to attain a single-digit poverty rate by 2028 through President Marcos' catch-up plan to increase economic growth and ensure a high inclusivity rate of such growth.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said this after President Marcos welcomed the drop in the country's unemployment and inflation rates.

In a media forum, Edillon said the government now knows what measures work to ensure a nine-percent poverty rate by 2028 is attainable.

“Yeah. Tingin namin kasi blip talaga iyong 2021 dahil nga sa Covid. So, nakita naman na rin natin iyong parang what worked before (We think so because 2021 was a blip due to Covid. We saw what worked before)," she said, as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

She noted that the government has to increase the growth's inclusiveness.

The previous administration posted a 21.8-percent poverty rate in 2021.

According to Edillon, the country's labor market recovered quickly after the economy reopened after the pandemic because of the available skills of the Filipino workforce.

She added that the good thing about the pandemic was that it did not ruin infrastructure or capital, unlike other disasters.

Meanwhile, discussing the country's growth drivers, the NEDA official said Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Metro Manila remain the top contributors to the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP).

Other regions, such as Central Visayas, Davao Region, and Northern Mindanao, have also shown increased growth.