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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to
search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts
Vol. VI, No. 23 July
16 - 22, 2006 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Analysis
Illusion as GMA’s Poverty
Solution
Do you consider
yourself poor? The Macapagal-Arroyo administration apparently does not
think so based on its most recent computation of the poverty threshold.
Expect President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to highlight her alleged victory
in her upcoming state of the nation address (SONA).
BY DANILO ARAÑA ARAO
Bulatlat
PICTURE OF
POVERTY: The Arroyo administration 's unrealistic poverty threshold
might not define this boy and his family as poor.
ARKIBONG BAYAN PHOTO |
When President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo delivers her state of the nation address (SONA) on July
24, expect her to highlight her administration’s alleged victory in the
war against poverty.
Statistics from the
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) indeed show that there was
a reduction in the number of poor families from 2000 to 2003. (The NSCB
has also released poverty data as of 2004 but these are still preliminary
estimates as of this writing.)
From 4,146,663
families in 2000, the number of poor families in 2003 slightly decreased
to 4,022,695. Considering that the Philippines has a population of about
80 million, one is wont to think that poverty does not affect majority of
the people.
For the
administration, the poverty threshold or poverty line is pegged at an
annual income of P12,309 ($234.94, based on an exchange rate of P52.39 per
US dollar). The NSCB defines poverty threshold or poverty line as “the
minimum income required to meet the food requirements and other non-food
basic needs.”
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It must be stressed,
however, that as far as the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is concerned,
P12,309 ($234.94) is enough to meet a person’s food and non-food needs for
one whole year. This means that a person living in the Philippines who has
P34.19 ($0.65) in his or her pocket can survive in one day and is not poor
in the eyes of government.
For a person living
in the National Capital Region (NCR), he or she only needs P46.49 ($0.89)
to meet food and non-food requirements. For those living outside NCR, the
daily per capita poverty threshold ranges from P27.24 or $0.52 (Central
Visayas) to P40.89 or $0.78 (Southern Tagalog A).
A minimum wage earner
in the NCR therefore is said to be not poor since his or her daily wage of
P350 or $6.68 can support the needs of a family of six.
Given these
standards, one should not be surprised that there are only 110,864
families in the NCR who are considered poor. This proves to be the case,
notwithstanding the long-standing demand for higher wages and the periodic
protests of concerned groups and individuals against the marginalized
sectors’ unrewarding toil.
The Macapagal-Arroyo
administration is expected to use these statistics not only as basis for
its supposed pro-poor orientation, but also as justification for
continuing its current policies and programs mainly with regard to wage
increases and the need to control prices of basic commodities. What is the
point, after all, of granting substantial wage increases if majority of
the people are actually not poor anymore?
Clearly, official
statistics on poverty which are mainly used to justify the correctness of
economic policies and programs must be taken with a grain of salt, so to
speak. The figures do not clearly mirror the reality one has to face every
day and must therefore struggle to radically change. Bulatlat
Poverty in the
Eyes of the Government
2003 (poverty
threshold in pesos) |
|
Annual Per Capita
Poverty Threshold |
Daily Per Capita
Poverty Threshold |
Number of Poor
Families |
Philippines |
12,309 |
34.19 |
4,022,695 |
National Capital
Region (NCR) |
16,737 |
46.49 |
110,864 |
Areas outside NCR |
12,186 |
33.85 |
3,911,831 |
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Cordillera
Administrative Region (CAR) |
14,033 |
38.98 |
72,084 |
Region I (Ilocos) |
13,281 |
36.89 |
213,846 |
Region II (Cagayan
Valley) |
11,417 |
31.71 |
113,298 |
Region III
(Central Luzon) |
14,378 |
39.94 |
242,820 |
Region IV-A
(Southern Tagalog) a/ |
14,720 |
40.89 |
316,911 |
Region IV-B
(Southern Tagalog) b/ |
12,402 |
34.45 |
199,485 |
Region V (Bicol) |
12,379 |
34.39 |
383,625 |
Region VI
(Western Visayas) |
12,291 |
34.14 |
397,073 |
Region VII
(Central Visayas) |
9,805 |
27.24 |
286,478 |
Region VIII
(Eastern Visayas) |
10,804 |
30.01 |
266,423 |
Region IX
(Western Mindanao) |
10,407 |
28.91 |
258,497 |
Region X
(Northern Mindanao) |
11,605 |
32.24 |
278,538 |
Region XI
(Southern Mindanao) |
11,399 |
31.66 |
231,068 |
Region XII
(Central Mindanao) |
11,328 |
31.47 |
227,093 |
CARAGA |
11,996 |
33.32 |
195,622 |
Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) |
12,733 |
35.37 |
228,970 |
Source of basic data: NSCB
a/ consists of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal
b/ consists of Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro,
Palawan, Romblon |
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