Poor spend less for food as rich increase budgets

MANILA, Philippines - Poor Filipino families spent less on food while the wealthy allotted more for it, a study by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said. Food received the lion’s share of the budget of both the bottom 30-percent poorest families and the top 10-percent of the wealthiest but the trend showed a decreasing budget for nutrition, NSCB Secretary General Romulo Virola said, citing a comparison of the 1997, 2000, and 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES). "On the average, however, Filipino families are spending less and less on food which eats 43 percent to 44 percent of the budget," he said. Poor families devoted more than 60 percent of their budget for food while the high-earners only spent less than 30 percent, he added. "While the overall pattern is for decreasing share of food to total expenditure, the top 10 percent are dangerously allocating more and more, from 27.7 percent in 1997 to 27.8 percent in 2000, to 28 percent in 2003," he said. The study also showed that the three groups (all income, bottom 30 percent, and top 10 percent) incurred a dwindling share of rice in their budget. It noted that the National Food Authority, which sells rice at lower than market rates, was “no means a major source of rice" even among the bottom 30 percent, who get only about 1/10 of their rice needs from the NFA. After food, the next biggest items common to the groups were rent of occupied dwelling units, transportation and communication, fuel, light and water, education and personal care and effects. "Increasing budgetary shares are seen for fuel, light and water; transportation and communication; personal care and effects; and education particularly among the top 10 percent," Virola said. Decreasing shares were made for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and taxes. Virola said that rough calculations showed that no less than 2 percent of Filipino families income went to taxes and the top 10 percent may have cheated the government, "paying less than 1/7 of what they should be paying". - GMANews.TV