A little over one in four (28%) families in the Cordillera are poor according to the National Statistics Development Board. The number increased from 25.8% in 2003.
So which province has the most number of poor people? Abra with a registered 22,484 poor families. The figures for the other provinces are as follows: Kalinga – 16,113; Mountain Province – 14,254; Apayao – 12,928; Ifugao – 11,082; and Benguet – 10,990.
Meanwhile, Apayao and Abra are included in country’s list of 10 poorest provinces in terms of poverty incidence. Poverty incidence in Apayao is recorded at 78.5% while in Abra the poverty incidence rate is at 50.1% .
Poverty is worsening in Cordillera — NSCB
By Dexter See/Manila Bulletin
BAGUIO CITY — The country’s 7.3 percent growth rate last year and the implementation of poverty-alleviation projects have not helped improve the poverty situation in the Cordillera in the past three years.
This assessment loomed after it was reported that the poverty incidence in the Cordillera has worsened, indicating that the benefits of the country’s high growth rate has not trickled down to the countryside.
The National Statistics Coordination Board’s (NSCB) computation of the annual per capita threshold indicated that the poverty incidence and magnitude of poverty has gone from bad to worse.
The NSCB statistics indicated the number of poor families in the Cordillera has increased from 72,040 in 2003 to 87,050 in 2006.
The statistics likewise indicated that 28.8 percent of the region’s total number of families are living under the poverty threshold compared to 25.8 percent in 2003.
The number of poor families in the country increased to 4,677,305 in 2006 from 4,022,695 in 2003.
Poor families are those whose income are lower than the computed poverty threshold in their areas.
The Cordillera poverty threshold is pegged at R16,810 income per person annually, one of the highest in the country.
NSCB defines “poverty threshold” as the computed amount needed by a person or family in order to meet basic food and non-food needs.
Abra registered the highest number of poverty incidence with 22,484 poor families. This increased from 17,339 in 2003.
Kalinga came in second with 16,113, followed by Mountain Province with 14,254; Apayao, 12,928; Ifugao, 11,082; and Benguet, 10,990 poor families.
While the poverty incidence in the region is 28.8 percent of the total number of families, it is considered insignificant due to the huge number of poor families in the whole country.
Two Cordillera provinces, Apayao, which recorded 78.5 percent poverty incidence, and Abra which had 50.1 party incidence, were included in the list of 10 poorest provinces in the country.
NSCB ranking shows that the 10 poorest provinces are Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Maguindanao, Apayao, Surigao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Northern Samar, Masbate, Abra, and Misamis Occidental.
The same NDCB ranking shows that Benguet remains in the list of the top 10 richest provinces in the country outside Metro Manila.
The richest provinces based on NCSB ranking are Batanes, which registered no poor family, Rizal, Bataan, Cavite, Benguet, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
In 2003, Benguet ranked the second richest province in the country, while Mountain Province and Kalinga were included in the list of the 10 poorest provinces.
It was noted, however, that the national government has been pouring funds on the Cordillera in an effort to speed up development in the region.
Most of the funds are allotted for the rehabilitation of vital roads to improve transportation.
Are they making statistics report for compliance? what is their basis of being poor? kalingas eat three times a day.. if they are basing on income, maybe kalingas are poor but with the nature of standard of living is satisfactory..If we look on traditions, the basis of poor and rich is the property they own..my definition of the poor are like those in metro manila who never owns shelter and land, without stagnant sources of food to eat.. kalingas live in a simple life, when we go to the cities they are laughing at our “porma ba” low tech cellphone, not stylish..pero actually we are the ones laughing at them.. kala mo sa city sobrang yaman ng porma pero pag sinundan mo “sa squater ang tuloy sa bahay na kahit ambon ay tagos ang ulan” atleast in kalinga we have concrete houses, my mga gawa din sa light materials pero we can call it a house that can withstand storms… we should learned to satisfy ourselves with things we can afford and not to exchange food for luxury..
just to follow up on my point baka ma mis understood.. in short and simple language kalingas may be poor but they prioritized the basic needs in life, shelter,land,food,education”
I’m not updated with Apayao since the partition with Kalinga, so why ngata this high poverty level.
For Abra, we know that the violent political families and warlords have something to do with their stagnation, but with Apayao? I always saw it as very blessed with water and natural resources. What’s the reason?
Measuring poverty is based on an MBN or Minimum Basic Needs. It’s a 13 point checklist used by most government organization in determining what service to provide. Another determinant is if the family is spending less than $1 a day for basic needs. But ultimately what they want to know is the “quality of life”.
Thanks for the info digital chain, but i think every province or municipality has its own standard of living that can’t be justified by comparison in some areas..i.e the poor in america maybe classified as rich in the philippines.. pero that method is effective cguro but why isn’t it that hindi naman priority ang mga poor kung sakali.. That maybe a good research but as usual we filipinos are very good in theory and research but we are very poor in implementation..