'1 out of 5 Filipino families poor'

MANILA, Philippines - One out of five Filipino families was poor as of 2012, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported on Monday.

The 19.7-percent poverty incidence is a slight drop from the 21 percent recorded in 2006 and 20.5 percent in 2009. Data on the country's official poverty incidence are released every three years and based on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office.

"Although the proportion of poor families has been practically similar between 2006 and 2012, on account of the country’s growing population, the estimated number of poor families has risen from 3.8 million in 2006 to 4.2 million in 2012," NSCB noted. The country's population between 2010 and 2015 is projected to be between 94 million and 102 million, with an average growth rate of 1.82, government data show.

NSCB added that in 2012, a Filipino family of five required P5,513 to meet the basic food needs for a month and P7,890 to stay above the poverty line.

Filipino families who fail to meet the food threshold, or those considered living in extreme poverty, made up 7.5 percent of the entire population in 2012, almost the same in 2009 but lower than the 8.8 percent in 2006. NSCB said despite the rise in the number of families in the country between 2006 and 2012, the estimated number of extremely poor families has remarkably remained steady at around 1.6 million.

"In 2012, on the average, incomes of poor families are short by 26.2 percent of the poverty threshold. This means that a poor family with five members needed a monthly additional income of PhP 2,067 to move out of poverty in 2012," NSCB added.

The National Economic and Development Authority said the recent report shows a slow decline, but is nonetheless an accomplishment or a work in progress in the fight against poverty.

"At the regional level, 13 out of 17 regions across the country experienced a reduction in poverty incidence in 2012 compared to 2009. The brightest spot is the region of CARAGA, dropping a remarkable 14.2 percentage points in poverty incidence among families. This marked improvement reflects the impact on poverty of CARAGA’s robust growth of 10.6 percent in 2012, the second fastest gross regional domestic product growth among all regions, coming from an 8.5 percent growth in 2011," NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

On the other hand, weak economic growth and occurrence of major calamities contributed to the rise of the poverty incidence in four regions: SOCCSKSARGEN (XII), the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, Eastern Visayas (VIII) and the National Capital Region.

Balisacan said the situation requires sustained high economic growth and policies which make growth inclusive for the poor.

" To address this, the government has been implementing programs and projects like the Pantawid Pamilya Program, the Community-Based Employment Program, and the Sustainable Livelihood Program, among others, to empower the most vulnerable sectors of our society," he said.

He added that disparities in poverty across the country need strategies that promote growth outside Metro Manila, such as infrastructure development and investment in human capital.

Balisacan also noted the impact of natural disasters which cancel out economic gains in vulnerable regions.

"From 2010 to 2012, there were about eight typhoons that have brought tremendous damages and losses in terms infrastructure and economic activity. Disasters like these have profound effects on the local economies and recovery usually takes an even longer time. These also signal the need for an urgent and deliberate focus on disaster risk reduction and mitigation for these areas, coupled with social insurance protection and income diversification," he said.