T

he country has been showing impressive growth in GDP

through the years, a decade in exact. From the last statistics

out, the country ended in 7.3% growth, one of the highest in 34 years, that is

since 1976, a time when economy grew by 8.8%.

But it‟s been years also if counted when we promised with the other

countries that we‟ll reduce the number of our poor fellowmen by halves in 2015.

Now that it‟s just 3 years from the World Summit deadline, Philippines has not yet

even reached of its promised 22.7% rate of poor people. The last government

statistics data said our poor are still numbered 32.9% (2006 FIES). This number if

compared to our neighboring countries statistics is too far. They have envying

numbers than us. Indonesia from promise of 20.6% to 10% poor has a poverty

rate now of 7.5%(2009). Thailand from the promise of 27.2% to 13.6% has now a

9.8% rate of poor. Lastly, Vietnam, one of with the highest number of poverty

rate during the world summit, 58.1% has now only 14.5%(2008), almost 1/25 of

their past poverty rate.

It‟s a challenge now with the new leaders elected from last year to do

their promises, one common promise from then and now, lift poor from their

condition.

The new administration as they promise through what they said “PNOY‟S

SOCIAL CONTRACT” to the Filipinos is a proof of commitment of the new

leadership to the poverty reduction:

1|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 “8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to

well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor

and the marginalized in the country. (http://noypipol.wordpress.com/)”

But what is more interesting to know here is that: can PNOY really do his

contracts and “trickle down” it to the people from a good economic stance?

The Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) mentioned in their

paper “The Poverty Fight: Has It Made Impact?” that there are some

development efforts overemphasize on economic growth done by past

controls resulted far from the expected reduction of poor especially in 1950s.

Another revelation is that “instability” of ideas on poverty made the

government to be confused on what policies and programs are to be run on

the country.

This calls for poverty definition and classification activity.

So what is poverty? Who can be called poor? What are the causes of it?

BACKGROUND
DEFINITION OF POOR AND POVERTY
The usual idea of poverty is that it is the effect of having low income and

having less capacity to fund those basic needs for survival.

2|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 According to Professor Romeo Cuevas and his colleagues in Far Eastern

University, “poverty is a state of living below humane condition.”

On the other hand, the World Bank (WB) defined poverty as a

“...pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It

includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services

necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of

health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate

physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to

better one‟s life.”

While from the other side, United Nation (UN) views it as, “...a denial of

choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic

capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to

feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to; not having the

land on which to grow one‟s food or a job to earn one‟s living, not having

access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals,

households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often

implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water

or sanitation.”

In short, it is condition wherein a person cannot satisfy his or her basic

needs, namely (by Encarta) as food, shelter, clothing, health and education.

However, upon settling the definition of poverty, the much thing to be

focused is the classification of poor.

3|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 There are two kinds of poor as to settlement, the rural poor and urban

poor.

Urban poverty, according to the WB is a multidimensional phenomenon.

The urban poor live with many deprivations. Their daily challenges may include:

a)limited access to employment opportunities and income, b)inadequate and

insecure housing and services, c)violent and unhealthy environments, d)little or

no social protection mechanisms, and e) limited access to adequate health

and education opportunities.

Cities provide opportunities for many, particularly the poor who are

attracted by greater job prospects, the availability of services, and for some, an

escape from constraining social and cultural traditions in rural villages. Yet city

life can also present conditions of overcrowded living, congestion,

unemployment, lack of social and community networks, stark inequalities, and

crippling social problems such as crime and violence. Often those with low skill

levels are be left behind and find themselves struggling with the day to day

challenges of city life. Many of the problems of urban poverty are rooted in a

complexity of resource and capacity constraints, inadequate Government

policies at both the central and local level, and a lack of planning for urban

growth and management. (WORLD BANK)

On the other hand, rural poverty is poverty in rural areas brought by the

rural economy of itself, rural society (culture) and rural political systems.

4|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 Aside from the two, there is another set of poverty type that the PIDS

identified the chronic and the transient poor.

It is significant that with the establishment of the following classification,

right programs use right targets so fund will not be going to nowhere.

THE CAUSES OF POVERTY

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) report “Poverty in the Philippines:

Causes, Constraints and Opportunities” revealed that the main causes of

poverty are:

 Low to moderate economic growth for 40 years

 Low growth elasticity to poverty reduction

 weakness in employment generation and the quality of jobs

generated;

 failure to fully develop the agriculture sector;

 high inflation during crisis periods;

 high levels of population growth;

 high and persistent levels of inequality (incomes and assets), which

dampen the positive impacts of economic expansion; and

recurrent shocks and exposure to risks such as economic crisis,

conflicts, natural disasters, and “environmental poverty.”

5|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 The new leadership won his seat from the Palace when he contagiously

shared to the many Filipinos his belief of “Kung walang korap, walang

mahirap.” (When there‟s no corrupt, there‟s no poor.)

Many Filipinos believe that if there‟s no corruption then happening in the

government they have, the country must be probably has no poor since

projects and programs are run effectively.

This only means how related is politics to poverty. Many employed

workers in the government are family and friends of politicians who own seats.

Many of the given people with projects and programs are known by the

politicians who own seats. It‟s the seat that runs everything. This is the fact, a

reality especially to the rural areas where there is less control of by the national

government.

The underground economy happening in the government caused the

funds to be inefficiently used. The dishonesty of some government officials

brought infrastructures that if not unfinished or partially finished, is not durable.

This, projects and programs that can be a chance for the poor to be lifted from

poverty, all lost, all taken.

Another factor seen to have been the cause of the poverty is that the

government has no good picture of poverty, making their policies and

programs inefficient.

6|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 In the mentioned paper earlier from PIDS, it was identified that the

government has no distinct program for the chronic poor and the transient

ones when they differ exactly.

On the other hand, the people itself may also cause the poverty to

happen. This can be with unemployment, lack of interest to work, illiteracy and

being landless or having no property at all.

The country too can be the cause of poverty as its policies are not

friendly to businesses. Foreign investments that can give our country growth in

the whole and opportunities to be employed avoid our country. There is this

Constitution according to Gerardo Sicat of University of Philippines School of

Economics that must be changed to ordinary law in order for us to be like our

neighboring countries which attracts a lot of foreign investments every year.

According to him, the Article XII contains some economic restrictions.

Having unfriendly policies can also be sighted from the lot of complaints

different countries filed against us example is the case on taxing drinks coming

from US and EU. According to the US and EU chamber, the being protectionist

of the government to our industries led it to become uncompetitive and less

creative. They said may be some of our industries can be under “Special and

Differential” classification but we have to consider that we can use our lands

and other countries resources to other industries we can possibly be the top like

a plantation of Jatropha, a source of biofuel.

7|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

 Rebellion and lawlessness of places like Mindanao brought poor life to

some of our fellowmen.

The weather and disasters like earthquake and flashfloods we faced also

have some effects on poverty. Typhoons damage crops which are source of

living of most rural people. It causes landslides which blocks way leading to

inefficient use of roads.

The most controversial issue today on population also has some effects

on poverty. If the population is small the government can sustain the needs of

the most of the people because government has also limits as for example

budget and powers. If there will be smaller number of families per home,

probably the income can cover up the needs of the family and we all knew

that.

THE INTERVIEW

Desperate to know more things, the team organized an interview in a

barangay.

And these were the questions asked:

8|POVERTY IN THE PHILIIPINES

Barangay official questionnaire

1. Sa tingin ninyo ano ang dahilan kung bakit marami ang

mahirap sa inyong lugar?

2. Sapat ba sa tingin ninyo ang pondo na meron ang barangay

upang matugunan ang problemang ito ng kahirapan? Ano sa

palagay ninyo ang dapat gawin ng mas mataas na sangay

ng gobyerno upang mabawasan ang problemang ito ng

barangay?

3. Anu-anong mga programa o proyekto mayroon ang inyong

pamahalaan upang matulungan itong mga mahihirap ng

Pamilyang mahirap questionnaire
inyong barangay?

1. Magkano po ba ang kinikita ninyo buwan-buwan?Magkano

po ba ang kailangan nyo para matustusan ang pagkain,

kalusugan at edukasyon – iyong tama lamang para mabuhay

ng maayos?

2. Kung magkakaroon kayo ng pera saan ninyo ito gagamitin?

Halimbawang kung ___ ang kailangan ninyo, dagdagan natin

ng limang libo. Anong gagawin ninyo roon?

3. Ano ang dapat mangyari o dapat gawin upang masolusyunan

ang problemang ito ng kahirapan?Una ng gobyerno at

pangalawa, ninyong mahihirap?

4. Kayo ba ay may probinsya? Saan 9mas

| P Onatutustusan
V E R T Y I N Tang
HE PHILIIPINES

pangunahin ninyong pangangailangan? Sa probinsya o dito sa

THE

STATISTICS

Self-rated Poverty

Self-Rated Poverty fell by 9 points in Mindanao, from 53% in September to 44% in

November, by 8 points in the Visayas, from 61% to 53%, and by 5 points in Metro

Manila, from 49% to 44%.

It rose by 11 points in Balance Luzon, from 40% to 51% .

10 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
It declined by one point in urban areas, from 43% to 42%, and stayed at 55% in

rural areas.

11 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
Poverty thresholds still sluggish everywhere

The Self-Rated Poverty Threshold, or the monthly budget that poor households

need in order not to consider themselves poor in general, remain sluggish for

several years despite considerable inflation. This indicates that poor families

have been lowering their living standards, i.e., belt-tightening.

As of November 2010, the median poverty threshold for poor households is

P15,000 in Metro Manila, P9,000 in Balance Luzon, P8,000 in the Visayas, and

P5,000 in Mindanao. These amounts have already been surpassed in the past in

those areas.

12 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
The median food-poverty threshold for poor households in Metro Manila is

P9,000, the highest for this area since SWS began surveying it in September

1996. The previous record-high was P8,000 in March 2004.

The median food-poverty threshold is P4,000 in Balance Luzon, P4,000 in the

Visayas, and P3,000 in Mindanao. These amounts had already been surpassed

several years ago.

Measurement of belt-tightening

In Metro Manila in particular, the median poverty threshold of P15,000 is barely

above P10,000 as in 2000, even though the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen

there by over 60% since.

The NCR median poverty threshold of P15,000 per month for November 2010 is

equivalent to only P 9,096 in base year 2000 purchasing power, after deflation

by the CPI. The deflated poverty threshold for NCR of below P10,000 per month

is a throwback to living standards of almost fifteen years ago [Chart 14, Table

14].

In four SWS surveys in 2000, the base year of the CPI, the median SWS poverty

threshold for NCR was already P10,000 per month, equivalent to P16,490 per

month at the November 2010 cost of living, given the CPI of 164.9. The

difference of P16,490 - P15,000 = P1,490 between the thresholds of 2000 and

November 2010 measures the extent of belt-tightening that took place.

13 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
On the other hand, median food poverty threshold of P9,000 in Metro Manila is

equivalent to only P5,729 in base year 2000 purchasing power for food [Chart

15, Table 15].

The median food poverty threshold in December 2000 was P6,000 for Metro

Manila. It is equivalent to P9,426 per month at the November 2010 cost of food,

given the CPI of 157.1 for food items. The difference of P9,426 - P9,000 = P426

between the food thresholds of 2000 and November 2010 is the extent of belt-

tightening made by food-poor Metro Manila households.

Survey Background

The November 2010 Social Weather Survey was conducted from November 27-

30, 2010 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the

Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for

national percentages, ±6% for area percentages).

The area estimates were weighted by National Statistics Office medium-

population projections for 2010 to obtain the national estimates.

The SWS survey questions about the family's experience of hunger, self-rated

poverty, and self-rated food-poverty are directed to the household head.

These items are non-commissioned, and are always included on SWS's own

initiative and released as a public service, with first printing rights assigned to

BusinessWorld.

14 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
SWS employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data-

processing, and analysis, and does not outsource any of its survey operations.

The effects of poverty to economy

Poverty is said to be the output of the economy but according to

Wikipedia, the causes can also be its effects, thus creating a cycle, the poverty

cycle operating across local, national and global levels.

On the other side, ADB from the paper mentioned earlier said that

possible effects to economy of poverty are:

 investment capacity constraints (lack of access to credit

aggravated by the underdevelopment of the financial markets);

 human capital constraints (lack of education, health care, and

nutrition);

 regular doses of risks and shocks, causing poverty traps; and

 conflicts and disorder resulting from inequality, which hamper

investments and destroy social capital.

15 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
From the point of view of Professor Lyann ELauria, former instructor in Far Eastern

University, poverty‟s effect to economy are:

1. The government will be forced to increase the rates of taxation to augment

revenues, needed to support and sustain the anti-poverty programs.

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, an Aquino

administration's affirmative action for the poorest of the poor

with the P21 billion budget which is mere 1.28 percent of the

total budget of the P1.64 trillion for 2011, aims to reduce

poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the

receivers' actions. The government only transfers the money

to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may

16 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
 include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular

check-ups at the doctor's office, receiving vaccinations.

It is one of the government‟s actions in order to reduce the number of

poor. This kind of program needs a high budget to realize its objective. But how

is the government to do this? Where is the government going to get their fund?

The thing is that there are two choices: to incur debt or to tax so high. But

today„s administration doesn‟t want to have a high debt because of pride he

have. President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (PNoy) doesn‟t want to be

compared to his successor Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who

ended her administration with a high debt. This means higher taxes which is

happening and done by BIR and BOC right now.

But this action (if the rate was not right) hurts those workers with no wage

hikes and is poor, their income gets smaller and that puts them to a situation

not to achieve the minimum basic needs.

So the question now is what is the government going to do? Its torn

between two devils.

2. It will result to too much income inequality which can undermine democracy

and lead to social conflict.

3. Unemployment will keep moving upward as the economy is down and no

jobs are available for the people.

17 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
 To reduce unemployment by bringing down wages lower results to

possibility of cutting down the number of poor people. To raise one worker‟s

wage is to help him reach his minimum basic needs.

These ideas are conflicting. The first hurts the workers. This may led to bad

productivity. The second has nothing to do with unemployed people.

THE CONCLUSION

Based on the facts and data we have gathered, we found that:

A. The government has no good picture of what is poverty (i.e. classification,

definition and statistics) that’s why its program is not that successful.

EXPLANATION: Based from the paper made by the Philippine Institute of

Development studies the reason why many government programs did

not attain success on its objective is because the government programs

are not aligned with those right targets. This means that the poor were

not classified orderly as to example: chronic, transient, urban and rural.

The government has no correct idea as to what is the level of poor right

now. The last time they have their survey is in 2006. They have no good

picture of who are poor, that‟s why idea on how they will solve is it is also

low.

18 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
B. There’s no continuation of programs that’s why the programs are not

tested really if it will have a positive output.

EXPLANATION: When a new president is elected, he or she usually does

not continue the fledged project of the recent administration. They

do not believe that the project or the program of the recent

administration committed is effective. That‟s why another program

again until programs ended to nothing and funds inefficiently used.

C. The number of poor fewer than 2 mos. of PNOY administration averaged

48 but it rose by 1 point, 49% from 48% of Sept 2010.

EXPLANATION: The people are losing hope because of the PNoy‟s

promises are not yet happening and there were so many troubles that

already happened.

D. Mindanao’s poor lowered by 9pt unlike Luzon (NCR not included) which

poor’s number rose by 11pt.

EXPLANATION: Mindanao has remained the poorest of the three island

groups in the Philippines in nearly a decade, and the government's anti-

poverty agency is blaming it on the war and the lack of basic

infrastructure in parts of the South. But with the settlement of new

leadership, armed conflicts are seen by the surveyed people in

Mindanao to change.

19 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
 On the other side, typhoons, landslides and floods felt by the people

living in Luzon led their harvests to be lost putting themselves in poor

sector.

E. There are poorer in rural areas.

EXPLANATION: There is lot of poor in the provinces because they have

are less industry there. According to Aling Judy, one of the family

interviewed by the team,”Kapag nasa siyudad mabilis ang pera ngunit

mabilis ding maubos. Kapag sa probinsya mabagal ang pera ngunit

matagal itong maubos.”[In the city, money is fast but also rapidly

depleted while in the province, the money comes slow but it runs out so

long.]

F. Unemployment was the reason pointed out by the poor interviewed on

why they suffer from poverty.

EXPLANATION: The economic crisis is hitting the Philippines and countries

in the developing world with unemployment. Nevertheless, there are

weak signs of recovery in agriculture. These are the findings from a study

of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which considers the industry

sector most at risk. The political class - he says – is wasting money that is

meant to be spent on socio - economic development projects for the

population, using it instead for their own purposes. That is the reason why

poor uncertainly find jobs here in Manila rather into their provinces. They

20 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
 leave their province and their families off the track because they believe

that the work is in the city. Many poor are not well educated so they

work hard to find jobs. Due to lack of work here in our country and

therefore also difficult to find a permanent job now many Filipinos leave

the country to find new hope in other areas.

THE RECOMMEDATION

 Generate more jobs in province by attracting businesses in it.

 Tourism – develop historic and beautiful places in provinces .

Strengthen the advertising and marketing of this places.

 Agriculture – give more benefits to farmers and strengthen reforms

on land ownership. Make credit more available to them by

building more rural banks.

 BPOs – attract call centers in provinces.

 Make more economic zones to attract businesses in provinces and

make policies there friendly to those businesses.

 Mindanao is not much prone to natural disasters, stabilize peace

and make it agricultural site of the Philippines.

 Define, classify and fund statistics on poverty to have a good idea

on how to solve it.

21 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
  Fix roads and build more bridges in separated areas to cities.

 Tighten policies on industries of basic needs to regulate its mass

availability.

 On issue of corruption: make bank accounts information of official

publicly available and make NATIONAL ID come to realization.

 Development Goals should be set in every local government,

municipal and most likely to barangays (smallest unit). If they

cannot do their goals, budget cuts will be implemented.

 Look for possibilities of bringing Jatropha plantation in the country.

A thing in starting to be in demand in the foreign market. This could

help our farmers.

THE PREDICTIONS/NEWS/ISSUES (BONUS)

According to WB‟s prediction,

 GDP is seen to fall short of 7% growth rate targeted to reduce

poverty

 Poverty will remain a serious problem because engines of country‟s

economic growth were – and still are – concentrated on sectors

that required skilled and highly skilled workers.

22 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
 According to WB senior economist for Philippines, Eric Le Borgne,

“the sectors that grow economy do not benefit the poor and the

poorest of the poor who, more often than not, are skilled.”

-p. A6, Business Mirror Vol VI, No. 88

January 18, 2011

Facts about CCT:

 The government expects that for PNoy‟s last term, 4Ps

(Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) will be benefiting 4.3

million Filipino poor from 700, 00 target this year.

 Social Watch said most of the 4Ps beneficiaries they surveyed

said access to regular employment would lift them out of

poverty. “This underscores the fact that one of the most

important elements to fight poverty is productive employment.”

-Business Mirror

Newest statistics released last February 8, 2011.

I. Highlights of the 2009 Official Poverty Statistics

The latest official poverty data indicate that a Filipino needed Php974 in
2009 to meet his/her monthly food needs and Php1,403 to stay out of poverty.
Both food and poverty thresholds increased by 26% from 2006 to 2009,
compared to only 22% between 2003 and 2006.
Consequently, a Filipino family of five needed Php4,869 monthly income
to meet the basic food needs and Php 7,017 to stay out of poverty.

23 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
 Subsistence incidence or proportion of food poor families improved from
8.7 percent in 2006 to 7.9 percent in 2009. This means that one family per 100
was lifted out of food poverty between 2006 and 2009.
In terms of poverty incidence among families, there was a slight
reduction from 21.1% in 2006 to 20.9% in 2009 or 2 families per 1,000 were lifted
out of poverty between 2006 and 2009.
Moreover, subsistence incidence among population improved from
11.7% in 2006 to 10.8% in 2009. This means that one per 100 Filipino was lifted out
of food poverty between 2006 and 2009.
While there was a decrease in the poverty incidence among families
from 2006 to 2009, in terms of poverty incidence among population, there was
a very slight increase from 26.4% in 2006 to 26.5 in 2009.
In terms of the magnitude of the poor families, there was an increase of
about 185,000 from 3.67 million in 2006 to 3.86 million in 2009. On the other
hand, the magnitude of poor population increased by almost 970,000 Filipinos
from 22.2 million in 2006 to 23.1 in 2009.
Meanwhile, the magnitude of subsistence poor families decreased by
about 58,000 from 1.51 million in 2006 to 1.45 million in 2009.

Table 1: Annual Per Capita Thresholds, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor
Statistics Estimate Inc/Dec Coefficient of
Variation

2003 2006 2009 2003 to 2006 to 2003 2006 2009

2006 2009

Annual Per Capita 10,976 13,348 16,841 21.6 26.2

Poverty Threshold (PhP)

Poverty Incidence (%)

Families 20.0 21.1 20.9 1.1 (0.2) 2.3 2.3 2.1

Population 24.9 26.4 26.5 1.4 0.1 2.1 2.1 1.9

Magnitude of poor (in

million)

Families 3.29 3.67 3.86 11.5 5.0 2.3 2.3 2.1

24 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
Population 19.8 22.17 23.14 12.0 4.4 2.1 2.1 1.9

Subsistence Incidence
(%)

Families 8.2 8.7 7.9 0.4 (0.8) 3.4 3.3 3.2

Population 11.1 11.7 10.8 0.6 (0.9) 3.2 3.2 3.1

Magnitude of
subsistence poor (in
million)

Families 1.36 1.51 1.45 11.3 (3.8) 3.4 3.3 3.2

Population 8.8 9.85 9.44 11.9 (4.2) 3.2 3.2 3.1

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

Other poverty measures such as the income gap 1, poverty gap 2, and
severity of poverty 3 improved from 2006 to 2009. The income gap contracted
by 1.5 percentage points from 27.2 percent in 2006 to 25.7 in 2009. This means
that on the average, the income of the poor in 2009 would need to be
increased by 25.7 percent of the poverty threshold for them to become non-
poor. This translates to a total amount of Php100.2 billion or Php4,328 per poor
individual needed to be distributed for them to become non-poor. The poverty
gap also improved by 3.1 percentage points from 2006 to 2009. The severity of
poverty, which captures inequality of income among the poor, improved by 0.2
percentage point from 2.2% to 2.0%.
Table 2: Income Gap, Poverty Gap and Severity of Poverty
Estimate Inc/Dec

2003 2006 2009 2003 – 2006 2006 – 2009

Income Gap 27.7 27.2 25.7 (0.5) (1.5)

Poverty Gap 5.6 5.7 2.7 0.1 (3.0)

Severity of Poverty 2.2 2.2 2.0 (0.0) (0.2)

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

In the National Capital Region, a sole breadwinner of a family of five in 2009

needed to earn at least PhP 8,251 per month to keep out of poverty.
Consequently, a minimum wage earner 4 in Metro Manila can support a family
of at most 6 members in 2009, to be classified as non-poor.

25 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
Among the 17 regions in the country, Caraga and ARMM consistently posted
the highest poverty incidence among families in 2006 and 2009. Two regions
that also posted high poverty incidence for both years were Region IX and V. In
terms of the share to total poor families, Regions VII, V and VI continue to have
the biggest share for years 2003, 2006 and 2009.
In terms of poverty incidence among families Regions IV-B, VII, I, II, XI, V, CAR
and NCR had decreasing poverty incidence between 2006 and 2009 while
Regions V, VI, IX, XII and Caraga has decreasing poverty incidence from 2003
to 2006. It is worth noting that Regions V consistently decraesed its poverty
incidence in over the six-year period.

Table 3: Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold and Poverty Incidence among Families
Region Annual Poverty Share to
Per Incidence Total
Capita among Poor
Poverty Families Families
Threshold
(PhP)

Estimate Coefficient
of
Variation

2003 2006 2009 2003 2006 2009 2003 2006 2009 2003 2006 2009

PHILIPPINES 10,976 13,348 16,841 20.0 21.1 20.9 2.3 2.3 2.1 100.0 100.0 100.0

NCR 13,997 16,487 19,802 2.1 3.4 2.6 12.0 13.1 12.0 1.5 2.2 1.7

CAR 10,881 12,976 16,122 16.1 18.6 17.1 11.2 12.8 11.8 1.4 1.5 1.4

Region I 11,791 14,350 17,768 17.8 20.4 17.8 7.8 7.6 7.0 4.7 5.3 4.6

Region II 10,350 12,212 15,306 15.2 15.5 14.5 8.4 9.2 8.3 2.7 2.6 2.4

Region III 12,771 15,374 18,981 9.4 12.0 12.0 8.6 8.4 7.6 5.2 6.2 6.3

Region IV-A 12,394 14,284 17,779 9.2 9.4 10.3 8.7 10.6 7.9 6.1 5.7 6.4

Region IV-B 10,398 12,610 15,769 29.8 34.3 27.6 6.6 7.2 6.8 4.5 5.1 4.2

Region V 11,476 13,645 17,146 38.0 36.1 36.0 4.9 5.0 4.2 10.9 9.9 10.0

Region VI 10,548 12,432 16,036 23.5 22.1 23.8 6.7 7.2 6.4 9.1 8.2 9.0

Region VII 11,798 14,468 17,848 32.1 33.5 30.2 6.5 6.4 6.3 11.8 11.8 10.8

Region VIII 9,850 11,885 15,910 30.2 31.1 33.2 5.9 5.8 5.3 6.9 6.9 7.4

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Region IX 9,642 11,810 15,160 40.5 34.2 36.6 7.1 9.3 6.7 7.2 6.1 6.3

Region X 10,501 12,987 16,568 32.4 32.7 32.8 7.2 5.7 5.8 7.3 7.0 7.1

Region XI 10,737 13,469 17,040 25.4 26.2 25.6 8.3 8.7 8.4 6.3 6.0 5.9

Region XII 10,277 12,530 15,762 27.2 27.1 28.1 8.1 7.0 6.7 5.8 5.5 5.8

Caraga 10,355 12,935 16,858 37.6 36.9 39.8 6.2 6.4 5.4 4.7 4.5 4.9

ARMM 9,664 12,358 16,334 25.0 36.5 38.1 10.1 7.4 6.1 3.8 5.3 5.7
Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

Among the provinces, Batanes, the four districts of NCR, Benguet, Cavite,
Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal, Pampanga, Nueva Vizcaya and Bataan were
consistently included in the least poor cluster of provinces in 2003, 2006 and
2009. Further, new entrants in the least poor cluster in 2009 were Ilocos Sur,
Zambales, Guimaras, Tarlac, Cagayan and Isabela.

Table 4: Provinces in the Least Poor Cluster: 2003, 2006 and 2009
Province 2009 2006 2003

Clust Poverty 90% Clust Poverty 90% Clust Poverty 90%

er Incidenc Confiden er Incidenc Confiden er Incidenc Confiden
e ce e ce e ce
Interval Interval Interval

Lower Uppe Lower Uppe Lower Uppe

Limit r Limit r Limit r
Limit Limit Limit

Batanes 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0

4th 5 0.7 1.6 2.5 5 2.0 2.9 3.7 5 1.8 1.1 2.4
District

2nd 5 1.6 2.4 3.2 5 2.1 3.8 5.5 5 2.6 1.7 3.4
District

1st 5 2.0 3.8 5.6 5 1.7 3.1 4.5 5 1.1 0.4 1.7
District

3rd 5 2.5 3.8 5.1 5 2.6 3.7 4.8 5 2.6 1.7 3.5
District

Benguet 5 2.0 4.0 6.1 5 2.1 3.6 5.0 5 4.4 1.7 7.1

Cavite 5 3.1 4.5 5.9 5 2.6 4.2 5.7 5 4.8 3.4 6.2

Bulacan 5 3.7 4.8 5.9 5 3.7 5.1 6.6 5 4.3 2.9 5.7

Laguna 5 4.1 5.9 7.6 5 3.0 4.5 6.0 5 5.2 3.5 6.9

27 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S
Rizal 5 4.2 6.5 8.7 5 1.6 2.7 3.7 5 2.9 1.9 3.9

Pampan 5 4.9 6.7 8.4 5 2.4 3.8 5.2 5 4.9 3.5 6.3
ga

Nueva 5 2.9 6.7 10.5 4 1.4 5.8 10.3 5 3.2 1.8 4.6
Vizcaya

Bataan 5 4.8 7.4 10.0 4 4.0 7.2 10.5 5 8.1 5.1 11.0

Ilocos 5 6.1 9.2 12.3 4 5.8 11.3 16.9 4 14.3 7.9 20.6
Norte
Note: Provinces were clustered using confidence intervals of poverty incidence as the clustering variable, where cluster 5 is
comprised of least poor provinces.
Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

On the other hand, Zamboanga del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del
Norte, Maguindanao, Masbate and Bohol were consistently included in the
bottom cluster of provinces in 2003, 2006 and 2009. Ten provinces from the
2006 bottom cluster of provinces dropped out from the list in 2009, namely,
Tawi-Tawi, Negros Oriental, Mindoro, Sultan Kudarat, Misamis Occidental,
Camiguin, Apayao, Catanduanes, Mt. Province and Isabela City.

Table 5: Provinces in the Bottom Cluster: 2003, 2006 and 2009

Province 2009 2006 2003

Clust Poverty 90% Clust Poverty 90% Clust Poverty 90%

er Inciden Confiden er Inciden Confiden er Inciden Confiden
ce ce ce ce ce ce
Interval Interval Interval

Lower Upp Lower Upp Lower Upp

Limit er Limit er Limit er
Limit Limit Limit

Zamboanga 1 46.0 52.9 59.8 1 46.4 54.1 61.7 1 59.5 51.4 67.5
del Norte

Agusan del 1 43.5 51.2 58.9 1 38.2 45.5 52.9 1 48.5 41.3 55.6
Sur

Surigao Del 1 43.1 47.9 52.8 1 34.9 41.6 48.3 1 42.3 35.2 49.4
Norte

Eastern 1 37.6 45.8 54.1 1 31.8 37.6 43.5 2 29.8 20.5 39.0
Samar

Maguindan 1 37.7 44.6 51.6 1 39.0 44.9 50.9 1 41.9 34.4 49.5
ao

Zamboanga 1 35.4 43.2 50.9 2 25.7 34.1 42.5 1 43.3 33.3 53.2
Sibugay

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Romblon 1 36.3 43.0 49.8 1 34.7 40.6 46.6 2 35.8 27.9 43.7

Masbate 1 36.6 42.5 48.3 1 33.9 42.9 51.8 1 50.2 42.3 58.0

Davao 1 36.4 42.5 48.6 1 28.0 39.0 50.1 2 35.6 26.7 44.4
Oriental

Northern 1 32.4 41.7 51.0 1 32.9 43.3 53.8 2 37.4 27.9 47.0
Samar

Bohol 1 33.6 41.0 48.4 1 35.8 43.7 51.6 1 40.2 33.8 46.7

Saranggani 1 34.0 40.7 47.3 2 29.2 34.0 38.8 1 36.7 28.4 45.1

Sulu 1 33.0 39.3 45.5 1 29.1 36.7 44.2 3 20.3 13.4 27.1

Lanao del 1 31.9 39.0 46.1 2 28.1 34.3 40.6 2 35.6 27.0 44.1
Norte

Camarines 1 33.8 38.7 43.6 1 31.0 36.6 42.3 2 38.3 32.5 44.1
Sur
Note: Provinces were clustered using confidence intervals of poverty incidence as the clustering variable, where cluster 1 is
comprised of bottom poor provinces.
Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

Among the provinces, Cebu and Negros Occidental continue to have

the biggest share in the total number of poor families, followed by Camarines
Sur and Pangasinan, accounting for close to 16% in 2006 and 2009. Other
provinces with the highest share in the total number of poor families for both
years are Nueva Ecija, Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Bohol, Quezon and Davao
del Sur.

Table 6: Provinces with the Highest Share toTotal Poor

Magnitude of Poor Share to the Total Poor
Families Families

2003 2006 2009 2003 2006 2009

Cebu 185,624 211,406 213,162 5.6 5.8 5.5

Negros Occidental 112,512 130,077 144,828 3.4 3.5 3.8

Camarines Sur 116,460 119,747 126,280 3.5 3.3 3.3

Pangasinan 92,191 128,396 114,400 2.8 3.5 3.0

Nueva Ecija 64,808 94,026 112,367 2.0 2.6 2.9

Leyte 99,082 104,260 110,214 3.0 2.8 2.9

Zamboanga del 102,074 101,511 109,745 3.1 2.8 2.8

Norte

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Bohol 90,735 104,032 102,522 2.8 2.8 2.7

Quezon 84,031 101,394 98,426 2.6 2.8 2.6

Negros Oriental 105,334 112,585 91,387 3.2 3.1 2.4

Davao del Sur 88,165 89,452 94,049 2.7 2.4 2.4

30 | P O V E R T Y I N T H E P H I L I I P I N E S