Half of Filipino families think themselves as poor

MANILA, Philippines - A little over half of Filipino families consider themselves “mahirap" or poor but their numbers did not increase as 2008 drew to a close, a new Social Weather Stations Survey (SWS) showed. December’s self-rated poverty figure of 52 percent, equivalent to about 9.4 million families, was unchanged from September and brought the average for last year to 53 percent, the quarterly survey, made exclusive to BusinessWorld, showed. The 2008 average was just above 2007’s 50 percent and was basically the same as 2006’s 54 percent, the independent survey research institution said. For the most part of last year, self-rated poverty ranged from 50-52 percent, spiking once to 59 percent in the second quarter. The SWS also found out that self-rated food poverty increased by four points, to 42 percent, in the fourth quarter. This brought the 2008 average to 42 percent, up from 2007’s 38 percent, and was again similar to 2006’s 42 percent. For the rest of the respondents, some 24 percent placed themselves on the poverty borderline and another 24 percent claimed they were not poor or “hindi mahirap." Meanwhile, 30 percent placed themselves on the food borderline, while 28 percent claimed they were not lacking in food. A National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) official attributed the results to the government’s pro-poor programs but admitted that the figures, while stable, were high due to the global downturn. An economist, meanwhile, predicted that poverty would worsen in the first quarter and called on the government to focus on job generation through the implementation of infrastructure projects. The latest SWS survey was fielded over November 28-December 1, 2008 and involved face-to-face interviews of 1,500 household heads nationwide. They were asked to rate whether their families were poor, on the line, or not poor. A similar question was asked with regard to food poverty. The error margins are +/-2.5 percent for national percentages; +/-6 percent for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao; and +/-4 percent for the Balance of Luzon. Gains in self-rated poverty were observed in Luzon outside Metro Manila where it fell to 44 percent in December from 51 percent in September. The result, the SWS said, is just two points above its record low in March 2005. It stayed relatively the same in the Visayas at 60 percent, but went up by five points in Metro Manila to 53 percent and by seven points in Mindanao to 59 percent. In urban areas, self-rated poverty went down by two points to 47 percent and remained at 56 percent in rural areas. Self-rated food poverty in the Balance of Luzon also fell, to 35 percent in December from 38 percent, but rose significantly—by 20 points—in Mindanao to 51 percent. It was up two points in Metro Manila to 42 percent and by six points in the Visayas to 50 percent. The SWS said sluggishness in the Self-Rated Poverty Threshold, or the monthly budget that poor households need so as not to regard themselves poor in general, points to continued lowering of living standards It said the median poverty threshold for poor families in Metro Manila stayed at P10,000, even though it had previously hit as much as P15,000. For poor households in Mindanao, it remained at P5,000 even if it had already reached P10,000. In the rest of Luzon and the Visayas it went up slightly to P7,000 and to P6,000 respectively, but the figure also had hit P10,000 previously for both. The median food-poverty thresholds, meanwhile, fell to P5,000 in Metro Manila but stayed at P4,000 in the rest of Luzon. It went up slightly to P4,000 in the Visayas and to P3,000 in Mindanao. "These levels had already been reached several years ago," the SWS said. As a measurement of belt-tightening, it said the Metro Manila median poverty threshold stayed at P10,000 just like in 2000, even if the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had risen there by about 58 percent. "The NCR (Metro Manila) ... threshold of P10,000 per month for December 2008 is equivalent to only P6,489 in base year 2000 purchasing power, after deflation by the CPI. The deflated poverty threshold ... of below P7,000 per month is a throw-back to living standards of 20 years ago," it said. It noted that in four surveys in 2000, the base year of the CPI, the median SWS poverty threshold was already P10,000 per month, equivalent to P15,410 based on the December 2008 cost of living. "The difference of P15,410 — P 10,000 = P5,410 between the thresholds of 2000 and December 2008 measures the extent of belt-tightening that took place," the SWS said. It said the median food poverty threshold of P5,000 in Metro Manila was equivalent to only P3,376 in base year 2000 purchasing power for food. It noted that the median threshold in December 2000 was P6,000 for Metro Manila, equivalent to P8,886 per month at the December 2008 cost of food. "The difference of P8,886 — P6,000 = P2,886 ... is the extent of belt-tightening made by food-poor Metro Manila households." Asked to comment, NAPC lead convenor Domingo F. Panganiban said the government’s pro-poor programs helped in stabilizing the self-rated poverty figure. "The interventions of the government in ensuring that rice remain affordable such as the issuing of access cards to the poor have helped a lot ... the budget for the conditional cash transfers for the poor also increased," he said in a telephone interview. Mr. Panganiban, however, admitted that the global financial crisis had driven up the prices of commodities. "Hopefully, our livelihood programs would help ease the poverty levels in the country," he said. But Benjamin E. Diokno, an economist from the University of the Philippines, believes that poverty incidence will increase this year due to the global slowdown. "The unemployment and underemployment situation may have worsened. Food inflation has slowed significantly yet food poverty incidence rose. This is possible if more people have become jobless," he said. "I think the incidence of self-rated poverty will worsen during the first quarter of 2009 ... I predict more post-Christmas and post-Chinese New Year layoffs," he added. Mr. Diokno said the government, in the short run, should focus on job creation. - Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld