NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL THREATS Poverty remains pervasive and is not expected to change significantly in the near future. As the population continues to grow, more Filipinos are expected to join the ranks of the poor so long as the poverty rate remains largely unchanged. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that poverty incidence among Filipinos in 2015 remains unacceptably high at 21.6%. On the other hand, subsistence incidence among Filipinos, or the proportion of Filipinos whose incomes fall below the food threshold, was estimated at 8.1% during the same period. Income inequality between the rich and the poor and between urban and rural areas has remained high and will likely persist into the future. The poorest 20% of Filipinos own less than 5% of the country’s total income and the richest 10% of the population accumulate income 2.7 times more than that of the poorest 40%. Moreover, average yearly unemployment and underemployment rates for the past five years remained steady at around 6% and 18%, respectively. In absolute terms, about 2.8 million Filipinos were unemployed. While unemployment rate increased recently, the underemployment rate dropped to 16.3% in January 2017 from 19.6% recorded in the same year ago. In absolute terms, about 6.4 million Filipinos were underemployed, according to the Labor Force Survey released by Philippine Statistics Authority in January 2017. Different levels of economic and social development, along with demographic pressures, cause hunger and malnutrition, homelessness, and larger migrations of people from tural to urban areas. Demographic migrations, in addition to social problems and the growth of crime, can lead to increased instability and insecurity. Infectious diseases are also on the rise particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Many of the HIV/AIDS cases were reported among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and among workers engaged in business process outsourcing. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OVERLAPPING TERRITORIAL CLAIMS AND MARITIME DOMAIN ISSUES The country needs to address the disputes concerning maritime boundaries as they affect a complex range of national security concerns as well as threaten regional peace and stability. The Philippines must ensure good order within its sea boundaries and develop appropriate maritime domain awareness and response force capability to address the presence of hostile forces at sea, pirates, terrorists, traffickers, illegal fishers, and other environmental transgressors. The Philippines must also protect the nation’s maritime interests in the Benham 12|Page