By Francis Allan L. Angelo (This article was originally published by the Daily Guardian on July 6, 2026. View the original article.)   Oxfam Pilipinas cautioned that the Philippines’ rise to upper-middle-income country (UMIC) status under the World Bank’s income classification “means little if millions of Filipinos remain poor, vulnerable to climate disasters and other crises, and […]

Billionaires are now 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary citizens, a concentration of power that is hollowing out democracies and fueling corruption and public anger, including in the Philippines, according to a new report released by Oxfam.

Billionaires, whose wealth saw record growth in 2025, are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary citizens, according to a global Oxfam report released Tuesday, coinciding with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) officially endorsed the Women’s Priority Legislative Agenda (WPLA) for the 20th and 21st Congresses, to the House of Representatives on November 26, 2025. A product of nationwide consultations across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the WPLA serves as a roadmap for gender-responsive legislation, reflecting the pressing needs, rights, and aspirations of Filipino women.

Oxfam started as a famine relief operation and is now a global development international organization. Oxfam’s presence in the country dates back to the late 1980s, initially through local partners rather than a local office. It eventually opened a country office in Manila and now operates as part of Oxfam Pilipinas under the Oxfam International Confederation.