The country’s poverty incidence declined significantly to 21.6% in 2015 of our population from 25.2% in 2012, and 26.3% in 2009 as reported by the Philippine Statistic Authority last October 27, 2016. The 2015 poverty incidence is within the 20.0 percent to 23.0 percent target set in the Philippine Development Plan. This to me is the final proof of the success of the previous administration’s effort to achieve rapid economic growth that is inclusive for all despite the world still not getting back to its normal growth pattern after the 2008-2009 Great Recession.
The latest poverty data estimate was based on the result of the 2015 Family Income and Expenditures (FIES) and the cost of living of the year. The FIES is conducted every three years. Correspondingly, the most comprehensive poverty data is also reported every three years, usually a year or two after the FIES is conducted.
The report said that in 2015 there are about 1.4 million less poor Filipinos than in 2009. Among families, poverty incidence was also at a record-low of 16.5 percent in 2015, versus 19.7 percent in 2012 and 20.5 percent in 2009. Likewise, the subsistence incidence, which measures extreme poverty, was reduced by more than half as of 2015, attaining the target of halving extreme poverty under the first Millennium Development Goal.
It was noted in the report that while the growth of per capita income in nominal terms accelerated, consumer price inflation decreased from 12.1 percent in 2009-2012 to 9.5 percent in 2012-2015. Therefore, in real terms, average incomes are growing at a faster rate in the last three years, which is likely to have contributed to poverty reduction.
Also, from 2012-2015, the report noted that per capita income of the bottom three deciles of households grew significantly by 24.3 percent and even faster compared to the average for all income groups and even compared to the top 20 percent income group, which grew by 15.8 and 12 percent, respectively.
Inflation was also reported to be moderate for the lower income segment adding that for the bottom three deciles, inflation slowed down from 12.0 percent in 2009-2012 to 11.7 percent in 2012-2015, even with higher food prices, particularly of rice.
Furthermore, the decrease in poverty incidence was observed in all regions and eased disparities across regions. From 2012 to 2015, the largest drop in poverty incidence was recorded in Region XI and Region XII, at 8.7 and 7.4 percentage point reduction. For the first time, poverty incidence in CALABARZON is now at single digit level, at 9.1 percent.
It is interesting to note from the 2015 poverty data the situation in Central Visayas, particularly that of Cebu. Looking at the data, I find that that poverty incidence in the Central Visayas Region was much higher in 2015 at 27.6 percent of the population compared to 21.6 percent at the national level. In 2009, poverty incidence was 31.0 percent in the region which was also much higher than the 26.3 percent at the national level in the same year.
Poverty incidence in Cebu somewhat mirrors that of the national rate. In 2009 Cebu’s poverty incidence was placed at 26.8 percent. This is just 0.5 percentage point higher than the national average. In 2015, this went down to 21.4 percent which is already is 0.2 percentage lower than the national average.
The poverty data also shows the magnitude and percentage share of poverty by province, including the highly urbanized cities thereat. It can be seen from the data that in 2015, Cebu has the greatest concentration of people in poverty in the country, numbering 986,577 in all. This represents 4.5 percent of the 21.9 million people considered poor nationally or 48.0 percent of the 2.06 million poor people in Central Visayas.
Despite the reduction in the overall poverty incidence in the country, there is still a lot more work to do ahead, particularly in reducing inequality across regions and sectors. There is a need to pay greater attention to the lagging regions particularly in Mindanao, as well as to the agriculture sector where many of the poor are found.
It should be noted that the underemployment rate still tends to be steep among regions with high poverty incidence. This signals the low earning capacity of the poor and their limited access to regular and productive jobs.
The report concludes that the improved poverty reduction indicates that our goal to eradicate poverty in the country is very possible and highly achievable. President Duterte has issued Executive Order No. 5 which states as one of the goals, to eradicate poverty by 2040, if not sooner. Can this be done? Yes, if we focus more on the economy this time because it is rapid growth that guarantees better life for everyone if only we devote more of our time working and learning rather than just complaining of our poverty and wait for help.
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