SWS recently released its 2018 Q3 self-reported poverty survey results. Link here: https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20181009230934
At 52%, this is a record high for the Duterte administration, and last happened in December 2014. The figure means that most (median) of the 12.2 million poorest families in the Philippines are living on less than the national threshold of P10,000 monthly, which in itself is a ridiculous amount to keep even a family of four together.
The data show that it is not uncommon to see a steep rise in self-reported poverty. Steep rises have occurred for all past administrations. However, it also appears that those sharp increases did not go on for more than just a few (possibly three) quarters. Though this is only the second quarterly poverty rate increase under Duterte since Q2, the next quarter is crucial as it appears prices are still expected to rise.
Note, however, that poverty is at a historical low for Metro Manila, the seat of political action in the country. The increase is rather due to sharp increases (12 points) in "Balance Luzon," plus the five points in Mindanao, where poverty has always been intense and is currently at 65%.
Previously in this blog I highlighted that the national poverty rate has been going down. Apparently it's only because of what can be called the "NCR-Luzon effect." This makes sense as most direct investments probably just end up there. Meanwhile, life for those in the Visayas and Mindanao is very hard at best. The economy is clearly not working for all, and is clearly a result of government's failed policies at the national level, or lack of it.
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2018
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Poverty in Q1 2018 is 42%: Time to Reposition the Debate
Q1 2018 self-reported poverty is 42%, the same as it was right after Duterte assumed office. The 42%figure is a historical low since SWS started taking the survey in 1983.
However, even as the Duterte administration has hit the figure twice, poverty reduction rate is almost flat during the entire seven quarters of the Duterte regime. But again it is too early to make anything of this. Self-reported poverty was in fact rising during the entire first four years of the Aquino II administration, before plunging down to around 44% in 2016 just before he left and Duterte rode the momentum.
Note that we are still talking about a national median monthly poverty threshold of P13,000 per family. That would mean that 42% of Filipino families were living below that threshold, with a very high number in the Visayas. The threshold is set higher at P20,000 in NCR. However, that's still just over P660 for 30% of families in the NCR that are self-reporting as poor by that low standard.
Although really very slowly, self-reported poverty has been going down for a while now. It is time for the Left to reposition the debate from poverty alone and to focus really on inequality. The thresholds are very low, especially compared with all the good stuff that the middle class can now afford.
https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20180425175540
However, even as the Duterte administration has hit the figure twice, poverty reduction rate is almost flat during the entire seven quarters of the Duterte regime. But again it is too early to make anything of this. Self-reported poverty was in fact rising during the entire first four years of the Aquino II administration, before plunging down to around 44% in 2016 just before he left and Duterte rode the momentum.
Note that we are still talking about a national median monthly poverty threshold of P13,000 per family. That would mean that 42% of Filipino families were living below that threshold, with a very high number in the Visayas. The threshold is set higher at P20,000 in NCR. However, that's still just over P660 for 30% of families in the NCR that are self-reporting as poor by that low standard.
Although really very slowly, self-reported poverty has been going down for a while now. It is time for the Left to reposition the debate from poverty alone and to focus really on inequality. The thresholds are very low, especially compared with all the good stuff that the middle class can now afford.
https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20180425175540
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Poverty inching up based on SWS data
After a 42% near-historical drop in the poverty rate as regularly measured by SWS, the self-rated poverty rate is now back to 50% of Filipino families. The last time this happened was in December 2015, and the second consecutive increase, following the 44% recorded during the last survey.
I said previously that the historical low reported in November which greeted the Duterte administration last year is probably mostly still a product of policies under the previous administration, which, toward its final two years, appeared to have managed to pull the rates down consistently.
What a difference a year makes, and after the euphoria over electing a populist president have subsided. At this rate, the previous administration's centerpiece anti-poverty program, the Pantawid, has not yet been completely phased out -- which is the same thing people like Duterte supporter Liza Maza of the NAPC are advocating.
When the Pantawid/CCT disappears, we can expect poverty to riot some more. Sure, you can argue all day that the Pantawid is a dole-out and does not solve poverty. But neither does killing the poor by the thousands, which is this government's own centerpiece program.
I said previously that the historical low reported in November which greeted the Duterte administration last year is probably mostly still a product of policies under the previous administration, which, toward its final two years, appeared to have managed to pull the rates down consistently.
What a difference a year makes, and after the euphoria over electing a populist president have subsided. At this rate, the previous administration's centerpiece anti-poverty program, the Pantawid, has not yet been completely phased out -- which is the same thing people like Duterte supporter Liza Maza of the NAPC are advocating.
When the Pantawid/CCT disappears, we can expect poverty to riot some more. Sure, you can argue all day that the Pantawid is a dole-out and does not solve poverty. But neither does killing the poor by the thousands, which is this government's own centerpiece program.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
SWS reports historical low in poverty rate (or 42% of families)
Most probably still as a result of the policies of the past administration, SWS reports self-rated poverty by Filipino families at 42%. As the survey company happily reports: "This bettered the previous record-low of 43% in March 1987 and also in March 2010."
A country with 42% of families reporting being poor is not exactly good news, but is at least more truthful statistic compared with what the PSA offers for this data point (they don't do it in the "self-reported" manner).
Link: http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20161013101158
A country with 42% of families reporting being poor is not exactly good news, but is at least more truthful statistic compared with what the PSA offers for this data point (they don't do it in the "self-reported" manner).
Link: http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20161013101158
Sunday, August 7, 2016
The point is that half of the population is still poor
The headline of the national daily BusinessWorld could have been music to the ears of its target reader class: "Self-rated poverty nears record low." The latest SWS survey, to which the business paper has priority access, reported that 45% of families surveyed in the second quarter considered themselves poor. The last time this supposedly happened was in December 2011.
The number actually represents 10.5 million families according to the SWS. Multiplied by five, the results would suggest over 50 million Filipinos living in poverty. That doesn't sound much like good news, having a country half of whose population is considering itself poor. Which is saying a lot since according to BusinessWorld's own report, the poor tend to look at their situation optimistically by saying they're just "getting by" despite real conditions indicating otherwise.
Respondents in Metro Manila report the poverty threshold at P20,000 for each family. Assuming a family of five, that threshold is nowhere near a luxurious lifestyle.
So the real story is that half of the population is still poor, and above the official estimate of 26%. Self-rated poverty has been hovering at the 50% level during the Arroyo and Aquino administrations. A dip in the figure is meaningless in the face of the fact that the poor have been in poverty for decades.
The number actually represents 10.5 million families according to the SWS. Multiplied by five, the results would suggest over 50 million Filipinos living in poverty. That doesn't sound much like good news, having a country half of whose population is considering itself poor. Which is saying a lot since according to BusinessWorld's own report, the poor tend to look at their situation optimistically by saying they're just "getting by" despite real conditions indicating otherwise.
Respondents in Metro Manila report the poverty threshold at P20,000 for each family. Assuming a family of five, that threshold is nowhere near a luxurious lifestyle.
So the real story is that half of the population is still poor, and above the official estimate of 26%. Self-rated poverty has been hovering at the 50% level during the Arroyo and Aquino administrations. A dip in the figure is meaningless in the face of the fact that the poor have been in poverty for decades.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
REPOST: Extra Judicial Killings: Normalizing Criminality Under the Guise of Peace and Order
(Read the original here.)
The Citizen’s Council for Human Rights (CCHR) strongly condemns the escalating number of killings of suspected drug pushers and drug dependents who said to have died either during so-called legitimate police operations or at the hands of unknown gunmen.
The surge in fatalities is too alarming to be ignored: from January 1 to May 9 this year (129 days), reported deaths from drug-related violence was 39. But the death count suddenly swelled after May 10. In a matter of 64 days, 251 deaths have already been reported. What makes these spate of executions most worrisome is that this was prompted by President Duterte’s pronouncements, made even before his assumption into office, that urged the police, ordinary citizens and later, the New Peoples Army to kill all those involved in the illegal drug trade, with the promise that he would shield them against any legal consequences.
Coming from the Chief Executive himself, this declaration legitimizes a system of crime response where the police and regular citizens become prosecutors, judges and executioners. The Criminal Justice System provides safeguards to protect suspected offenders and all citizens against arbitrary acts through transparency, and checks and balances. The arbitrary killing of suspects bypasses this system altogether,infringes on fundamental due process tenets and denies people the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The social costs and dangers of arbitrary methods should not be underestimated. The disregard of safeguards endangers everyone in Philippine society: anyone can now be accused of any crime or involvement in illegal drugs and be executed before and without having a chance to publicly defend themselves in court.There is no reason why these violations will not extend to law abiding citizens and human rights and environmental defenders, as in the case of Gloria Capitan, grandmother and campaigner for her community’s environmental rights.
Human Rights organizations and the CHR have spent over three decades sensitizing security forces on Human Rights values and ideals, but these efforts are about to be for naught.
Besides, Extra Judicial Executions, the Duterte administration’s war on drugs has inspired other excesses. At least one woman and a child has been sexually harassed in the course of operations. On many occasions, suspected drug peddlers and drug dependents, before having their day in court, are paraded in public places.
Apart from being an affront to the dignity of persons and their loved ones, shame campaigns and sexual harassment also undermine the well-being of communities and Philippine society in general. Such acts, categorized as psychological torture is prohibited by the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 or RA 9745. By allowing such illegal acts by authorities,we contribute to the culture haphazard, harmful and arbitrary dispensation of justice. Local Executives should treat drug dependents with compassion and facilitate their rehabilitation while ensuring that those involved in the drug trade are brought to justice through legitimate processes.
The Citizen’s Council for Human Rights does not believe these methods which deliberately violate the right to life, right to dignity and due process, will solve the country’s crime and illegal drugs problem. In fact, the social costs and dangers of employing extra-legal methods are high.
Finally, CCHR calls on the Duterte government to:
CCHR is a broad coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs), human rights lawyers, religious sector and members of the academe that came together to defend and assert human rights for all.
The Citizen’s Council for Human Rights (CCHR) strongly condemns the escalating number of killings of suspected drug pushers and drug dependents who said to have died either during so-called legitimate police operations or at the hands of unknown gunmen.
The surge in fatalities is too alarming to be ignored: from January 1 to May 9 this year (129 days), reported deaths from drug-related violence was 39. But the death count suddenly swelled after May 10. In a matter of 64 days, 251 deaths have already been reported. What makes these spate of executions most worrisome is that this was prompted by President Duterte’s pronouncements, made even before his assumption into office, that urged the police, ordinary citizens and later, the New Peoples Army to kill all those involved in the illegal drug trade, with the promise that he would shield them against any legal consequences.
Coming from the Chief Executive himself, this declaration legitimizes a system of crime response where the police and regular citizens become prosecutors, judges and executioners. The Criminal Justice System provides safeguards to protect suspected offenders and all citizens against arbitrary acts through transparency, and checks and balances. The arbitrary killing of suspects bypasses this system altogether,infringes on fundamental due process tenets and denies people the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The social costs and dangers of arbitrary methods should not be underestimated. The disregard of safeguards endangers everyone in Philippine society: anyone can now be accused of any crime or involvement in illegal drugs and be executed before and without having a chance to publicly defend themselves in court.There is no reason why these violations will not extend to law abiding citizens and human rights and environmental defenders, as in the case of Gloria Capitan, grandmother and campaigner for her community’s environmental rights.
Human Rights organizations and the CHR have spent over three decades sensitizing security forces on Human Rights values and ideals, but these efforts are about to be for naught.
Besides, Extra Judicial Executions, the Duterte administration’s war on drugs has inspired other excesses. At least one woman and a child has been sexually harassed in the course of operations. On many occasions, suspected drug peddlers and drug dependents, before having their day in court, are paraded in public places.
Apart from being an affront to the dignity of persons and their loved ones, shame campaigns and sexual harassment also undermine the well-being of communities and Philippine society in general. Such acts, categorized as psychological torture is prohibited by the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 or RA 9745. By allowing such illegal acts by authorities,we contribute to the culture haphazard, harmful and arbitrary dispensation of justice. Local Executives should treat drug dependents with compassion and facilitate their rehabilitation while ensuring that those involved in the drug trade are brought to justice through legitimate processes.
The Citizen’s Council for Human Rights does not believe these methods which deliberately violate the right to life, right to dignity and due process, will solve the country’s crime and illegal drugs problem. In fact, the social costs and dangers of employing extra-legal methods are high.
Finally, CCHR calls on the Duterte government to:
- Immediately stop the killings of suspected criminals and drug related offenders. Law enforcement authorities and government officials should abide by our criminal justice system, by securing warrants prior to arrest, strict observance of police rules of engagement and maximum tolerance in the arrest of suspects, filing of appropriate cases and bringing them to the BJMP without harm and allowing them to stand trial. The killing of suspects outside the rule of law is palliative and does not tackle the core of the crime and drug problems.
- Strictly prohibit LGU Executives and law enforcement units from implementing torture and dehumanizing methods in the fight against crime and drugs. The listing of and knocking on houses of persons suspected of peddling and using drugs to as well as the “walks of shame” destroy the humanity of persons and their families. These individuals are also deprived of their right to due process and to reintegrate with their communities with dignity.
- Professionalize and raise the human rights and respect for the rule of law standards of the PNP, PDEA, NBI and other law enforcement agencies and rid their ranks of those involved in corruption and syndicated crime. The most professional and efficient law enforcement agencies in the world are those which have solid human rights foundations and those that strictly adhere to the very laws they are tasked to uphold. Strict adherence to the Rule of Law, institutional safeguards and respect for human rights must be the cornerstones of Philippine law enforcement modernization and professionalization.
- Review and reform the criminal justice system and root out corruption in the prosecution service, courts, the BJMP and the Bucor as soon as possible with the view of making the whole system prompt and efficient in dispensing justice and reforming persons.
- Institute mechanisms widely accessible to ordinary Filipinos so that corruption, involvement in crime, violations to the rule of law and due process as well as extra judicial killings and other grave excesses can be promptly reported to relevant institutions.
- Review and reconsider state policy on drug addiction and make available and accessible proper drug rehabilitation programs and facilities to the majority of drug dependents who come from the poor. Drug dependents are persons who are ill and are victims of addictive substances. While the manufacture and sale of drugs are crimes, drug addiction is not. Drug abuse is a public health issue and it should be the DOH and its counterpart units at the LGU handling drug rehabilitation programs and facilities, not corrections officials. 60% of those in Philippine jails and penal institutions are incarcerated due to drug offenses under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2009 or RA 9165; these are people who need proper treatment.
- Invest in the realization of a life of dignity for all. Essential services such as education, health, housing, food and the commons such as water and electricity and other basic needs which people need to get out of poverty and become productive members of Philippine society, should be democratized. These requirements of a life of dignity provide people with economic and social opportunities, enabling them to pave their way out of often unbearable conditions which engender anti-social values and behavior. We should address the roots of rampant crime and extensive drug trade and abuse as well as many other social problems by stamping out poverty and social idleness. These social levelers include a good public education which exists for the benefit of public order. Currently, we waste human resources because so many in poor communities are unskilled, when they could contribute to nation building. When all in Philippine society enjoy a productive life of dignity, there will be few left who are prone and vulnerable to dysfunctional behavior or predisposed to a life of crime and drugs.
- Halt all initiatives toward the reimposition of the Death Penalty and the lowering of the age of discernment.
- Investigate and prosecute the authorities responsible for human rights violations in the course of the drug war implementation. Justice must be served to the families of those killed, tortured and to those who suffered from sexual harassment.
Stop the killings and shame campaigns! No to vigilantism!
Address the root cause of social problems!
Bring offenders to justice through due process and the rule of law!
CCHR is a broad coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs), human rights lawyers, religious sector and members of the academe that came together to defend and assert human rights for all.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
How much are Filipinos making these days?
The national average income of Filipino families according to official statistics is P235,000, or around P19,600 monthly for a family with five members. As with other indicators, that average rises to a comparatively higher P379,000 in the National Capital Region.
That figure is actually misleading, since the national average is driven up by income from the top 10% of the population whose annual family wealth is three times that of the national average. Accounting only for the 90% of Filipino families without this fabulously rich bunch would yield a mean P181,000 annual earnings, or P15,000 monthly, which is probably closer to the reality of the average Pinoy household.
Inequality remains notable. The richest families earn ten times as much as the poorest families on a national average, with those belonging to the top decile mentioned earlier earning P715,000 a year or P60,000 a month. In Metro Manila, the top income earning families earn P83,000 a month, which means they make more in a month what the poorest Filipinos do in 14 months (1 year, 2 months).
The richest 10% of Filipino families own no less than 30% of the nation's wealth. The rest divide the 70% among themselves, but those in the poorest decile have only a meager 3% share, or P147 billion. The PSA's Table 7 is a reminder of what Capitalism is basically all about: The concentration of wealth for those already at the top of the pyramid.
The news is that inequality did not change in the first three years of the Aquino administration. According to the PSA, "the income of families in all per capita income deciles had hardly changed within the period 2009-2012." The next batch of survey results similar to where these figures were taken are not due until February 2017.
What do the figures from the poorest decile actually mean? It means that 10.7 million Filipinos belong to 2.1 million Filipino families whose income does not exceed P6,000 monthly. Or, that's 10.7 million Filipinos living on just about P40 a day.
It also shows ineffective measurement. The statistics agency notes that families in the poorest decile had expenses exceeding their income (what they do to make ends meet is anybody's guess).
Expenditures consist mainly of food (because the poorest spend more on food, or 62.3%, as a portion of their earnings compared with the rich). If even P40 per individual does not meet daily needs, statistics that officially peg the individual poverty threshold at P30 (which is what we actually have) are putting it at a very low margin.
The government currently puts official poverty at 26.3% (or around 26 million Filipinos since were about a hundred million). It appears that number is bound to be a bit more higher.
That figure is actually misleading, since the national average is driven up by income from the top 10% of the population whose annual family wealth is three times that of the national average. Accounting only for the 90% of Filipino families without this fabulously rich bunch would yield a mean P181,000 annual earnings, or P15,000 monthly, which is probably closer to the reality of the average Pinoy household.
Inequality remains notable. The richest families earn ten times as much as the poorest families on a national average, with those belonging to the top decile mentioned earlier earning P715,000 a year or P60,000 a month. In Metro Manila, the top income earning families earn P83,000 a month, which means they make more in a month what the poorest Filipinos do in 14 months (1 year, 2 months).
The richest 10% of Filipino families own no less than 30% of the nation's wealth. The rest divide the 70% among themselves, but those in the poorest decile have only a meager 3% share, or P147 billion. The PSA's Table 7 is a reminder of what Capitalism is basically all about: The concentration of wealth for those already at the top of the pyramid.
The news is that inequality did not change in the first three years of the Aquino administration. According to the PSA, "the income of families in all per capita income deciles had hardly changed within the period 2009-2012." The next batch of survey results similar to where these figures were taken are not due until February 2017.
What do the figures from the poorest decile actually mean? It means that 10.7 million Filipinos belong to 2.1 million Filipino families whose income does not exceed P6,000 monthly. Or, that's 10.7 million Filipinos living on just about P40 a day.
It also shows ineffective measurement. The statistics agency notes that families in the poorest decile had expenses exceeding their income (what they do to make ends meet is anybody's guess).
Expenditures consist mainly of food (because the poorest spend more on food, or 62.3%, as a portion of their earnings compared with the rich). If even P40 per individual does not meet daily needs, statistics that officially peg the individual poverty threshold at P30 (which is what we actually have) are putting it at a very low margin.
The government currently puts official poverty at 26.3% (or around 26 million Filipinos since were about a hundred million). It appears that number is bound to be a bit more higher.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Philippine poverty right now
As the name states, this will be a blog about Philippine economics and politics that's supposed to be run by a Leftist (i.e. me). I'm doing this blog because we do live in interesting times under new President Rodrigo Duterte. As of this time, most of the people I've talked to are adopting a wait-and-see attitude toward him. This is interesting, considering that his "Negatives" column list down killings and human rights violations. Apparently his other things about him are balancing out that otherwise troubling fact.
I'm not confident of being able to follow through with updates, and this is not the first time I've attempted to blog. So hopefully this works.
So, immediately down to business, we need some base lines. Where are we at. Or, how fucked up are we? I did a quick search and also looked at articles from Ibon, the local Establishment Left's think tank. (This industrialization pitch is a good read.) I plan to stick to covering only a bare minimum of data points that fall within my concerns. Poverty and wage numbers are, of course, a must.
Poverty
It's a terrific country, any way you look at it. Out of a hundred million Filipinos, some 26 million are poor (26.3% poverty incidence as of the latest official statistics). Poor means these folks below the poverty threshold of P10,969 annually, or P30 pesos a day. The running joke has always been, you have P30 right now, you're fine.
The figure is a national average, which does not mean that when you walk out in the street to congregate with your fellow Pinoys in Manila's malls, one out of every four souls you'd meet is poor. The NCR itself has a poverty incidence of 6.5%. The problem is, since 2006, it's been rising. Poverty incidence in the capital has increased from 4.4%, 5.3%, 5.4%, to the great leap backward at 6.5%, from 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015 respectively. If I recall, administration bet Roxas failed in the national capital. This should be one of the reasons. Of course it may be due to urban migration due to the influx of Pinoys from the provinces.
Speaking of the provinces. As of the first half of 2015, the poorest regions in the Philippines (and their corresponding poverty incidence percentages by population) are:
1. ARMM: 59.0
2. Region VIII Samar-Leyte: 47.3
3. Region XII Cotabato: 44.5
4. Caraga Region: 43.9
5. Bukidnon 40.9
Mindanao is definitely buying it. Duterte's region, Davao, itself has a poverty incidence of 26.7%, which is still just above the national average, although only five other regions (NCR, IVA, Central Luzon, Isabela and Ilocos) actually beat the national figure.
Throughout the country, the only other places outside of the NCR that produce single-digit poverty rates are Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna and Benguet. Excluding the last, these are most probably just due to the fact that people in these provinces actually work in Metro Manila. All roads lead to Makati and Ortigas, whether you're the smart, fast-paced English-speaking yuppie or the toilet bowl cleaner serving those yuppies. Benguet of course is the seat of Baguio.
The thing is obviously systemic. Another way of saying that provinces all over the country did not just decide one by one to jump into the poverty ship. We have good reason to think they don't actually like to be there, and have attempted to get out. Something drove them. The question is whether Duterte will get to have a look at what did.
Any way you put it, 26 million individuals categorized as poor by official standards is not a way to make a society, least of them a "happy" one. I currently don't have comparative figures for other countries in the Southeast Asian region. All I know is, whenever I look at the product details of the grocery items (food), they're all showing as coming from Thailand.
I'm not confident of being able to follow through with updates, and this is not the first time I've attempted to blog. So hopefully this works.
So, immediately down to business, we need some base lines. Where are we at. Or, how fucked up are we? I did a quick search and also looked at articles from Ibon, the local Establishment Left's think tank. (This industrialization pitch is a good read.) I plan to stick to covering only a bare minimum of data points that fall within my concerns. Poverty and wage numbers are, of course, a must.
Poverty
It's a terrific country, any way you look at it. Out of a hundred million Filipinos, some 26 million are poor (26.3% poverty incidence as of the latest official statistics). Poor means these folks below the poverty threshold of P10,969 annually, or P30 pesos a day. The running joke has always been, you have P30 right now, you're fine.
The figure is a national average, which does not mean that when you walk out in the street to congregate with your fellow Pinoys in Manila's malls, one out of every four souls you'd meet is poor. The NCR itself has a poverty incidence of 6.5%. The problem is, since 2006, it's been rising. Poverty incidence in the capital has increased from 4.4%, 5.3%, 5.4%, to the great leap backward at 6.5%, from 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015 respectively. If I recall, administration bet Roxas failed in the national capital. This should be one of the reasons. Of course it may be due to urban migration due to the influx of Pinoys from the provinces.
Speaking of the provinces. As of the first half of 2015, the poorest regions in the Philippines (and their corresponding poverty incidence percentages by population) are:
1. ARMM: 59.0
2. Region VIII Samar-Leyte: 47.3
3. Region XII Cotabato: 44.5
4. Caraga Region: 43.9
5. Bukidnon 40.9
Mindanao is definitely buying it. Duterte's region, Davao, itself has a poverty incidence of 26.7%, which is still just above the national average, although only five other regions (NCR, IVA, Central Luzon, Isabela and Ilocos) actually beat the national figure.
Throughout the country, the only other places outside of the NCR that produce single-digit poverty rates are Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna and Benguet. Excluding the last, these are most probably just due to the fact that people in these provinces actually work in Metro Manila. All roads lead to Makati and Ortigas, whether you're the smart, fast-paced English-speaking yuppie or the toilet bowl cleaner serving those yuppies. Benguet of course is the seat of Baguio.
The thing is obviously systemic. Another way of saying that provinces all over the country did not just decide one by one to jump into the poverty ship. We have good reason to think they don't actually like to be there, and have attempted to get out. Something drove them. The question is whether Duterte will get to have a look at what did.
Any way you put it, 26 million individuals categorized as poor by official standards is not a way to make a society, least of them a "happy" one. I currently don't have comparative figures for other countries in the Southeast Asian region. All I know is, whenever I look at the product details of the grocery items (food), they're all showing as coming from Thailand.
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