Manila, Jumada I 15, 1436, Mar 6, 2015, SPA -- Higher food prices and the lingering impact of a devastating typhoon worsened poverty in the Philippines in the first half of last year, the government said Friday. According to dpa, Poverty among Filipinos rose to over a quarter (25.8 per cent) from 24.6 per cent in the same period the previous year, said Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. The higher food prices, especially rice, eroded gains in per capita income, which increased by as much as 8.5 per cent for low-income Filipinos during the same period, he said. Inflation for food went up 6.5 per cent in the first half of 2014. "The very high prices of food wiped out the gains in per capital income," Balisacan said. "Just at the time when the world price of rice was declining, the domestic price of rice was skyrocketing." --SPA 14:06 LOCAL TIME 11:06 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w