Number of families in poverty increasing: NSCB report
Danny Chan
The Philippines’ rapidly expanding population along with an increase in prices compared to household incomes has resulted in more Filipino households living in poverty, according to a National Statistical Coordinating Board report. The survey, released on March 5, stated 4.7 million families representing 26.9 per cent of the nation’s households were below the poverty line in 2006. The figure represents an increase from the 4 million poor families in the 2003 study.
“‘Poor’ refers to those whose incomes fall below the threshold determined by the government, or those who cannot afford to provide in a sustained manner for their minimum basic needs for food, health, education, housing and other social amenities in life,” Romulo Virola, the NSCB secretary general, said at a press conference.
August Santos, the acting director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the economy’s trickle-down benefits have failed to reach those in dire financial straits.
“The failure to meet the most basic needs can be due to increasing prices and/or insufficient rise in personal income. Higher prices in 2004 to 2006 may have hindered access to both food and nonfood basic needs and, hence, pushed some individuals/families down the poverty line,” he said. Economic growth from 2004 through 2006 averaged 5.4 per cent yet the number of poor proliferated. Mr. Santos said the economy strengthened after 2006, allowing the poor to reap the benefits of invigorated economic growth.
The NSCB report said the average poverty line for a family of five was P6,274 a month in 2006. A family of five earning less than P6,274 was considered poor. In 2003, the poverty level for a family of five was P5,129.
Among individual Filipinos, 32.9 per cent of the population, representing 27.6 million Filipinos, was deemed poor in 2006. The NSCB survey stated the figures increased from 30 per cent and 23.8 million respectively in 2003.
The report further indicated the number of families classified as “food poor”, whereby incomes fall below a government-determined minimum requirement for food expenditure, also increased from 1.7 million in 2003 to 1.9 million in 2006. The food poverty incidence similarly increased from 10.2 per cent in 2003 to 11 per cent in 2006.
In absolute terms, the 12.2 million Filipinos who were food poor in 2006 represented 14.6 per cent of the country’s population. Both indices were a regression from the 10.8 million and 13.5 per cent from 2003, the NSCB study indicated.
Tawi-tawi, the archipelago’s southernmost province, was the nation’s poorest region with eight out of 10 families living in poverty in 2006, the NSCB stated. Batanes, the northernmost province, boasted a zero poverty incidence.
Mr. Santos said typhoons Milenyo (international codename: Xangsane) and Reming (Durian) struck the Philippines in 2006, throwing into turmoil the livelihood of the country’s subsistence farmers. An increase in the value-added tax from 10 to 12 per cent in 2006, along with electricity and oil being taxable in November 2005, added to consumers’ burdens.
The higher prices paid by Filipinos were the result of the government’s need to increase its revenues, Mr. Santos said, although any short-term pain would be offset by the government’s solid financial situation in the long run. For instance, he added, the government has used its windfall to increase spending on infrastructure and health services.
Malacañang said the nation’s poverty levels actually dropped during the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said poverty dropped from 27.2 per cent to 22.4 per cent of families from 2000 to 2006, or from 27.2 per cent to 22.4 per cent of families over the six-year period. He added the poverty rate is expected to fall in the next survey for 2009 because primary spending in the national budget for anti-poverty measures and programs increased by P281 billion from 2006 to 2008, representing a fivefold increase from 2003-2005.
Mr. Santos echoed the sentiment, stating the Philippines’ poverty incidence would decrease in the 2009 report. Dolores de Quiros-Castillo, assistant secretary of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, said the government aimed to reduce poverty to between 17 and 20 per cent by 2010. She said the ambitious target could be achieved if the government continues its present policy of increasing spending for social services.
“With the growing need to promote conditions that assure better basic services for the poor, it has become necessary to determine—with absolute precision—where the poor are, why they are poor, and what service they require,” Ms. Castillo said at the same press conference, adding the NAPC was working with local governments to introduce programs such as livelihood training.
Social Weather Stations released a survey last January indicating self-rated poverty had declined to 46 per cent from 52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2007. The polling agency stated the last time self-rated poverty fell below the 50 per cent threshold was last June when 47 per cent or respondents described themselves as poor. SWS further noted self-rated poverty had been on a general decline since mid-2006.
