Rising Percentage of Poverty in The Philippines

A Research Proposal
Presented to Ma’am Marsha Lou Villan

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

In Applied Economics

By
Rodriguez, Maria Alizon Reigne
Aguirre, Arabella Grace
Lagare, Daniel Lancelot
Sudueste, Giselle Alexa
Adam, Bai Ishmael
Diaz, Estelle Marie
Kasan, Bernardina
Porras, Irish Jade
Casimiro, Andrea
Escamilla, Roger
Dayot, Marjelly
Introduction

The researchers came up with the title “Factors That Affect the Rising

Percentage of Poverty in the Philippines” due to the given topic which is poverty.

As time goes by, the percentage of people affected by poverty is rapidly

increasing. In this research study, the active causes of this unfortunate quality of

the Philippines are going to be tackled as well as the effects that the causes

resulted to. Since the given topic is poverty and it has a major contribution to

different issues, the researchers chose to give spotlight and emphasis to the

consistently ignored topic. Considering that poverty is a big issue in the country,

solving this and the small factors that contribute into forming poverty can create

an enormous impact, the researcher’s purpose of choosing this study title is to

educate the Filipinos about the existing active issue. The Philippines being

labeled as a third-world country can certainly strike up a series of questions as

to; what happened, why it happened, when it happened, who let and made it

happen, and how it happened. This research study aims to provide an

explanation as why poverty is still rampant within the Philippines since the

citizens are gradually tolerating situations and making it a taboo to talk about

issues that hasn’t been resolved, here is a list of evidences that poverty can be

solved if only Filipinos worked together in transparency, and unity.

Articles
Expect increase in poverty as COVID-19 ushers in Duterte's 4th year

JUL 2, 2020 11:49 AM PHT

VERNISE TANTUCO

At a glance
Poverty incidence decreased in 2018 but is expected to increase due to economic
factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic
Self-rated hunger and self-rated poverty are the highest they have been since
2014, in part due to the pandemic but also because of the TRAIN law
SWS' self-rated hunger survey was conducted through mobile phone and
computer assisted telephone interviews, which may have affected their poll
results
MANILA, Philippines – Poverty incidence declined in the first half of President
Rodrigo Duterte’s term, but experts are expecting an inevitable increase in
hunger and poverty because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) predicts that 200 million
people worldwide will lose access to basic food and nutrition in the coming
months because of the pandemic. This is on top of the more than 800 million
people who experienced food insecurity before the crisis.
Aside from its impact on healthcare systems, the WFP said in a June 2020 report
that a combination of a global recession and dependence on volatile import,
export, and credit markets will lead to unemployment and loss of income, and
constrain countries’ abilities to respond to needs.
The most affected, they said, will be poor and marginalized populations and even
groups that were able to meet their own needs previously.
The Philippines will not be exempt from the effects of the health crisis, despite
the decrease in poverty incidence in recent years.
Poverty incidence, or the proportion of Filipino families with incomes not sufficient
to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs, was at an estimated 12.1%
in 2018, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This is
almost a 6-percentage point drop since the PSA’s last published full year poverty
statistics in 2015, when poverty incidence was estimated to be 18%.
The PSA’s poverty data is published every 3 years. The chart below shows the
trend in percentage of poverty incidence among Filipino families from 2003 to
2018. This does not include latest statistics.

Hunger on the rise

A more recent estimate of hunger and poverty are Social Weather Stations’ self-
rated poverty and self-rated hunger surveys. These are conducted quarterly
every year.
The effects of the pandemic can be clearly seen in SWS’ most recent hunger
survey. According to their data, the percentage of Filipinos who were involuntarily
hungry in May 2020 (16.7% or 4.2 million families) almost doubled since
December 2019 (8.8% or around 2.1 million families). This is the highest the
number has been since September 2014 (22.8% or 4.8 million families).
For Jose Ramon Albert, a research fellow at the Philippine Institute for
Development Studies, these results are unsurprising. “[The increase in
involuntary hunger was] clearly due to the pandemic, particularly
the lockdown that sought to manage the virus, but reduced economic activity.
Since at least a 3rd of the employed are in the informal sector, many of whom
are likely dependent on day-to-day livelihood, you would expect hunger to rise,”
he said in an email interview on Thursday, June 25.
As restrictions ease, he added, hunger is expected to ease as well, though not to
the levels before the pandemic, as people are expected to lose jobs or continue
to be affected by the crisis. There needs to be more targeted social protection by
the government, he said, to manage the hunger levels.
For Leslie Lopez, assistant professor at Ateneo de Manila University’s
Development Studies Program, it’s imperative that the marginalized are provided
with food, money, and healthcare services, until they can get back on their feet.
“But it has to be clear that it is a stopgap mechanism for the meantime, it won’t
be this way forever, because we don't also want to encourage mendicancy,
wherein you’ll depend on the government for everything,” she said in a mix of
English and Filipino during a phone interview on Monday, June 29.
“But given the situation that there aren't enough jobs to go around, there’s
unemployment, and these people are the most vulnerable ones because they
don't have savings to begin with… then in the meantime we can’t do nothing,”
she said.

Increase in real, perceived poverty

When it comes to self-rated poverty, SWS’s most recent survey, conducted
in December 2019, showed that 54% of respondents, or around 13.1 million
families, considered themselves poor.
Like self-rated hunger in May 2020, this number is also the highest since
September 2014.
When asked why Filipinos felt poorer even before the pandemic hit, Lopez said
that based on her own research, it may be because of the Tax Reform for
Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, which took effect in January 2018. The
law reduced personal income taxes but increased taxes on cars, tobacco, sugar-
sweetened beverages, and fuel.
In a study she was involved in, said Lopez, the families at a school in Metro
Manila said they experienced more hunger in 2019 than in 2018 regardless of
whether they were part of the school feeding program. This was attributed to
having to live on the same income during the two years despite higher prices due
to the TRAIN law.
According to the SWS survey, most respondents who rated themselves poor
were in the Visayas (67%) followed by Mindanao (64%), Balance Luzon (47%),
and Metro Manila (41%). There were increases in all of these areas compared to
September.
Of the total 54% self-rated poor families, 7% (1.6 million) were not poor 1 to 4
years ago and another 7% (1.8 million) were not poor 5 or more years ago. The
remaining 40% (9.7 million) have never experienced being non-poor.
“I will not be surprised if there will even be a higher spike in the coming months,”
Lopez predicted. “Because if you're going to connect [the December 2019 spike]
with the economic recession brought about by this pandemic, there are going to
be more people who will be actually hungry or will perceive themselves as
hungrier now, simply because they don't have enough money to buy the food that
they want, regardless of whether it's nutritious or not.”

Survey limitations due to COVID-19

The SWS hunger survey for May 2020 was conducted through mobile phone and
computer-assisted telephone interviewing because of the COVID-19 pandemic
and the resulting Luzon lockdown. They surveyed 4,010 Filipinos who were 15
years old and above: 294 in the National Capital Region, 1,645 in balance Luzon,
792 in the Visayas, and 1,279 in Mindanao.
According to their survey, 99% of the respondents received help in the form of
food since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Most people received food-help
from the government (99%), followed by relatives (22%), private groups or
institutions (16%), and friends (10%).
As of Wednesday, July 1, the December 2019 survey is the latest among SWS’s
poverty polls. It was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults
nationwide, with 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao.
According to SWS, the results and analysis of their mobile survey will be
released progressively, and they started with the hunger situation.
Both Albert and Lopez said the mobile surveys may affect the results.
If internet penetration rates were equal to the number of people with mobile
phones and that number represents the entire population, Albert said, then the
survey results would be alright. “But it is possible that the digital divide would put
a bias to the survey results,” he said.
Lopez said that the way the survey was conducted adds another layer to how
respondents may answer. “[The responses] can either go negative – that they
would actually be more reserved in answering – or they will be more open. It can
go both ways,” she said.
She also pointed out that there may be a systematic bias in the results, because
those who use pre-paid phone lines, who might be of lower socioeconomic
status, may have been excluded from the sampling frame. If this was the case,
she said in a follow-up email, the hunger situation may actually be bleaker than
what the survey results show. – Rappler.com

World Bank: Pandemic to sink 2.7M more Filipinos in poverty

By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:33 PM December 08, 2020

MANILA, Philippines—The COVID-19 pandemic will make 2.7 million more

Filipinos poor this year on top of a record slide in the Philippines’ gross domestic
product (GDP) or economic output in what could be the worst outturn post-war, the
World Bank said Tuesday.

The Washington-based multilateral lender was nonetheless bullish about an

economic recovery starting in 2021 as quarantine restrictions further ease and as
COVID-19 vaccines become available.

The World Bank’s Philippine Economic Update for December 2020 projected
GDP shrinking by a bigger 8.1 percent in 2020, from the previous forecast of 6.9
percent.
While more optimistic than the government’s estimate of 8.5-9.5 percent GDP
contraction this year, the World Bank’s forecast was also worse than the
prevailing record of 7-percent decline in 1984, at the height of a debt crisis during
the waning years of the Marcos dictatorship.
The government last week estimated 2020 nominal GDP dropping to P18.19
trillion from P19.52 trillion last year.
World Bank senior economist Rong Qian attributed the downgraded 2020
forecast to the bigger-than-expected GDP contraction of 11.5 percent year-on-
year during the third quarter of 2020.
The third quarter contraction came as quarantine measures were gradually
eased and amid damage wrought by the string of typhoons that battered the
country from October to November.
World Bank numbers
“The expected growth contraction in 2020 is likely to increase poverty in the short
term, resulting in an additional 2.7 million poor people in 2020,” Qian said. This
meant 2.7 million people breaching the World Bank poverty line of $3.2 per day
per capita based on 2011 purchasing power parity among middle income
countries like the Philippines, said Qian.
Qian said job losses and slower cash remittances from overseas were likely to
push more Filipinos into poverty.
“The poor and vulnerable, are especially likely to experience significant welfare
losses, given their limited capacity to manage risks,” said Qian.
“Household perceptions regarding their finances are bleak,” she said. She cited a
World Bank household survey last August showing 88.6 percent of households
“expressed concern over their finances.”

sing a different poverty line, the Philippine government’s official national poverty
incidence rate stood at a low of 16.7 percent or 17.7 million Filipinos in 2018. But
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua had already
flagged a temporary increase in urban poverty amid the pandemic.
“As the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic dissipates and business activities
gradually return to normal, the economic recovery is expected to contribute to
poverty reduction,” Qian said. “The poverty rate is projected to fall to its 2018
level in 2021 and keep falling throughout 2022,” Qian added.
The World Bank sees the Philippines’ GDP growing by 5.9 percent in 2021 and 6
percent in 2022, although below the government’s target bands of 6.5-7.5
percent and 8-10 percent.
Qian said the 2021-2022 forecasts were based on expectations that private
consumption will pick up alongside public investments bolstered by election-
related spending starting mid-2021 ahead of the 2022 presidential elections.
“Growth will not be a fast rebound but gradual recovery given containment
measures still in place next year,” Qian said.
Vaccination targets
Economic managers last week said the Philippines will stay under less restrictive
quarantine during the first few months of 2021 and could only open its economy
100 percent by the time the vaccination level reaches 60 percent of the
population towards the end of next year.
Qian said the World Bank did not take into account in its near-term baseline
growth forecasts yet the timing of vaccine availability.
“If the vaccine would be rolled out next year, it will be an upside to our
projection,” Qian said.
On the flip side, Qian said “a possible resurgence of COVID-19 is the most
significant downside risk to the country’s growth outlook.”
“A second wave may lead to stricter containment measures, which could dampen
economic activities, lower consumption growth, and delay the implementation of
public infrastructure projects, pushing the economy into a deeper recession in
2020 and a more protracted recovery in the medium term,” Qian warned.

Pandemic may keep more Filipinos poor, jobless until next year – NEDA

By Melissa Luz Lopez, CNN Philippines

Published Sep 10, 2020 12:33:05 PM

Updated Sep 10, 2020 10:52:00 PM

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:00 AM October 03, 2020

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 10) — More Filipinos could slip into
poverty and joblessness until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National
Economic and Development Authority said Thursday.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said latest

projections showed that the poverty incidence rate will range from 15.5-17.5
percent next year, coming from 16.7 percent or 17.7 million people in 2018.

"There will be some temporary increase in the poverty rate," Chua said during
the Senate budget hearing, adding that more people living in the capital region
and mega cities will be mostly affected.

"The COVID pandemic, the quarantines are largely affecting the urban areas, we
are fortunate to note that in the rural areas, in agriculture, COVID is not
threatening their livelihood," he added.

The Duterte administration wanted to pluck 6 million Filipinos out of poverty by

2022. This was achieved two years ago, but was likely reversed by the public
health crisis.

The Philippine Statistics Authority measures poverty incidence every three years,
and the government had been aiming to trim the poverty rate to 14 percent or
lower by 2022.
Chua admitted that previous gains may be erased by the "unprecedented"
COVID-19 crisis.

He added that the number of Filipinos slipping into poverty would have been
higher if the government "did nothing." For now, the focus is temporary support
as well as the reopening of more sectors, which should let even more workers
earn a living again.

"A significant number of jobs came back the moment we relaxed (quarantine
rules)," the Cabinet official said, adding that the downtrend in unemployment can
be sustained if more sectors are opened and if public transport capacity is raised
further.

"The results in just one quarter show that the impact can be big if we loosen up
our restrictions as safely as possible," Chua added.

From a peak of 7.3 million unemployed adults in April, the number went down to
around 4.6 million in July, which captured two months of eased movement and
industry restrictions in most parts of the country.

Senator Risa Hontiveros batted for the appointment of a "trabaho czar" to match
the focus given on health response. However, Chua explained that the
government's task is not direct job creation — rather, the maintenance of an
environment that ushers in business and investment, which will then open new
opportunities for workers.

Chua said that the unemployment rate will likely simmer down to between 6-8
percent next year from the current 10 percent level, or about 7 million Filipinos.
However, this would still be higher than the 5 percent jobless rate pre-pandemic,
or an additional 2 million people unemployed.

Meanwhile, economic think-tank IBON Foundation described as “inconceivable”

the poverty incidence estimates given by NEDA for 2021.

IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa noted that despite the massive
job cuts and lockdowns brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, NEDA gave lower
estimates than the 2018 figures.

Africa also slammed the inaccurate economic figures provided by the

government saying they do not reflect the reality on ground.

He cited the economic managers’ pronouncement of four million jobless Filipinos,

which he said is imprecise because they are not counting as "unemployed" those
who are looking for work but are hindered by health and mobility challenges
brought by the pandemic.
“It’s not the pandemic keeping people poor," stressed Africa. "It is government
inaction.”

Extreme Effects of Poverty in the Philippines

The Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia comprised of more than

7,000 islands. Poverty has proven to be one of the most significant
challenges facing this country and its citizens. Filipinos are having a hard time
surviving in such difficult conditions, and more and more are falling into extreme
poverty.
According to the Asian Development Bank, the major causes of poverty include:
low economic growth, a weak agricultural sector, increased population rates and
a high volume of inequality. Because of these factors, there are a lot of effects of
poverty in the Philippines that make it difficult for people to live in such
circumstances.

Inability to Afford Housing

With poverty plaguing the country and employment opportunities being scarce,
many Filipinos are unable to afford housing, which puts them in danger of turning
to the streets for accommodation. In 2012, extreme poverty within the
Philippines affected 19.2 percent of the population or around 18.4 million people.

This poverty line survived on $1.25 a day, making it extremely difficult to rise out
of poverty and find affordable housing for Filipinos and their families.

Malnutrition in the Philippines

Hunger is one of the extreme effects of poverty in the Philippines. With little
money to buy food, Filipinos are having to survive on very limited food; even
when food supplies are stable, they are most accessible in other areas where
people have enough income to purchase the food.

And with such an unequal distribution of income, there is a low demand for food
supplies in less developed areas that are home to low-income residents. The
quality of food is also decreasing — rice used to be the main source of food for
Filipinos, but now it has largely been replaced with instant noodles, which is
cheaper but less nutritious. As a result, malnutrition has become a lot more
common.

Child Labor

With poverty taking a toll on Filipinos, parents often can’t make enough money to
support their families; children then have to be taken out of school to work in
harsh conditions. Statistics show that around 3.6 million children, from ages 5-17,
are child laborers in the Philippines. This is 15.9 percent of the entire population.
Crime and Thievery
With conditions so troublesome, people often resort to crime and thievery to
survive. Research found that one of the overwhelming reasons to steal is due to
difficulties caused by poverty. Without proper employment, people turn to
stealing, especially since family sizes are rather large, and there are a lot of
people to provide for.

There are too many people and not enough resources. And with such conditions,
people become desperate and practice drastic measures to provide for
themselves and their families.

Even with later statistics found in 2015, 21.6 percent of the population lived
below the poverty line. Conditions do not seem to be improving, but there is
always the hope for new development. As a result, it is important to understand
the effects of poverty in the Philippines because it is a country in need of
assistance.
– McCall Robison
FEBRUARY 17, 2018/

Poverty incidence highest among farmers, fisherfolk, rural dwellers

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:16 AM June 05, 2020

While nationwide poverty incidence fell to 16.6 percent in 2018 and was reflected
across 11 basic sectors, Filipinos living and working in the countryside remained
poorer compared with those in urban areas, a Philippine Statistics Authority report
said.

Preliminary estimates of poverty incidence, or the proportion of poor Filipinos

whose incomes are insufficient to meet their basic needs, showed the highest
rates in 2018—albeit lower than 2015 figures—were among farmers (31.6 percent
in 2018, down from 40.8 percent in 2015), fisherfolk (26.2 percent, down from 36.9
percent) and individuals residing in rural areas (24.5 percent, down from 34
percent).

he number of poor farmers in 2018 declined to 2.4 million from 3.7 million in
2015; fisherfolk, down to 453,200 from 287,100; and rural dwellers, down to 12.6
million from 18.1 million.
Among children, poverty incidence declined to 23.9 percent from 33.5 percent in
2016. Still, it was the fourth highest rate among the sectors.
As for self-employed and unpaid family workers, poverty incidence rate was 18
percent (against 26.2 percent in 2015), and among women, 16.6 percent (versus
23.9 percent previously).

Philippines is still poor: Philippine Daily Inquirer

PUBLISHED

MAR 28, 2016, 3:13 PM SGT

Poverty remains the one area that overshadows the economic achievements of
the Aquino administration.

At the end of a six-year term highlighted by enviable economic growths that

began in 2010, more than 26 million Filipinos remain poor. And nearly half or
more than 12 million of them live in extreme poverty and without the means to
feed themselves.

Contrast this with the few Filipino families who land every year in the Forbes
magazine’s list of billionaires (in US dollars) and one can do the math.

The benefits of economic growth are not trickling down to where these are most
needed, and the cause of which is attributed to various factors, among these, a
flawed economic growth model that only makes the rich grow richer; an economy
where inefficient economic sectors are protected from competition, which could
bring down the cost of goods and services; or a government where corruption is
so prevalent even at the barangay level, such that it has adversely affected
public service.

The latest survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that in the first
semester of last year, 26.3 per cent of Filipinos were living below the poverty line
(a measure of the minimum income required to meet the basic necessities).
This was equivalent to 26.48 million Filipinos, based on the total population of
100.7 million in 2015.

In 2012, the national poverty incidence stood at 27.9 per cent of the population.

In 2009, it was 28.6 per cent, practically unchanged from the 2006 level of 28.8
percent.

The 2015 survey also found that 12.1 per cent of Filipinos–roughly 12.18 million–
live in extreme poverty, meaning, their earnings were not enough to buy three
meals a day.

This, too, indicated very tiny improvements from the three previous surveys–14.2
per cent in 2006, 13.3 per cent in 2009 and 13.4 percent in 2012.

he poorest regions in particular needed more immediate government attention.

For example, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which had
the highest proportion of the poor at 59 per cent of the population in 2015, had
almost a third of its residents, or 30.1 per cent, living in extreme poverty.

The explanation was that the region was conflict-ridden and the ARMM–or
Mindanao, for that matter–has always been neglected economically in the past.

This was reflected in the worsening figure for the ARMM, which in 2006 had a
poverty incidence of 49.8 per cent (21.1 per cent among them extremely poor),
49.7 per cent in 2009 and 52.9 per cent in 2012.

In contrast, Metro Manila, the seat of government and the country’s business
hub, had the lowest proportion of the poor, with just 6.5 per cent of its population
below the poverty line, although this has been rising from 4.4 per cent in 2006 to
5.4 per cent in 2009.
It is true that the latest poverty incidence figure reflected slight improvements
from the same period in 2012, two years after President Aquino assumed power,
as well as from 2009 and 2006 under the Arroyo presidency.

However, we beg to disagree with how an official of the National Economic and
Development Authority describes the figure as “actually good,” and a sign that
economic growth has trickled down to lower-income families.

The fact remains that the Philippines has failed to meet its commitment to the
United Nations under the millennium development goals on poverty, which was
to halve by 2015 the country’s poverty incidence to 17 per cent in 2015 from 34
per cent in the 1990s.

The real poverty figure could in fact be higher if we are to consider the official
national food threshold of P7,638 (S$217.8) a month–the requirement for a family
of five to be able to have three regular meals every day.

This threshold is equivalent to P254.60 a day for a family of five, or P50.92 for
each member to be able to eat three meals a day. That is P16.97 for each meal.

No wonder candidates seeking the presidency have again highlighted the poverty
situation in the country, each promising to uplift the economic conditions of those
who are in need most.

Sadly, a promise always repeated every election season.

What could be different this time?

Or put another way, what different, specific programmes or measures have those
vying for the presidency committed to undertake to really address poverty?

So far, we have not heard any from all of them, except for the promise to
continue or expand the conditional cash transfer scheme dubbed Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Programme or 4Ps. Which, economists agree, cannot reduce
poverty in the long run as this is meant to just tide the poorest of the poor over
extreme poverty.

Poverty incidence among Filipinos registered at 26.3%, as of first semester

of 2015 - PSA

Reference Number:

2016-318

Release Date:

Friday, March 18, 2016

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) releases its latest report today on the
country’s official poverty statistics for the first semester of 2015. The PSA report
provides the estimates of poverty incidence using income data from the first visit
of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted in July 2015.

Poverty incidence among Filipinos1 in the first semester of 2015 was estimated
at 26.3 percent. During the same period in 2012, poverty incidence among
Filipinos was recorded at 27.9 percent 2.

On the other hand, subsistence incidence among Filipinos, or the proportion of

Filipinos whose incomes fall below the food threshold, was estimated at 12.1
percent in the first semester of 2015. In the first half of 2012, the subsistence
incidence among Filipinos is at 13.4 percent 3. Subsistence incidence among
Filipinos is often referred to as the proportion of Filipinos in extreme or
subsistence poverty.

Food and Poverty Thresholds

Food threshold is the minimum income required to meet basic food needs and
satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition Research
Institute (FNRI) to ensure that one remains economically and socially productive.
It is used to measure extreme or subsistence poverty. Poverty threshold is a
similar concept, expanded to include basic non-food needs such as clothing,
housing, transportation, health, and education expenses.

During the first semester of 2015, a family of five needed at least PhP 6,365 on
the average every month to meet the family’s basic food needs and at least PhP
9,140 on the average every month to meet both basic food and non-food needs.
These amounts represent the monthly food threshold and monthly poverty
threshold, respectively. They indicate increases of about 17 percent in food
threshold and poverty thresholds from the first semester of 2012 to the first
semester of 2015 4.

Poverty among Filipino families

PSA also releases statistics on poverty among families – a crucial social indicator
that guides policy makers in their efforts to alleviate poverty.

The poverty incidence among Filipino families based on the first visit of 2015
FIES was estimated at 21.1 percent during the first semester of 2015. In the first
semester of 2012, the poverty incidence among Filipino families was estimated at
22.3 percent 5.

The subsistence incidence among Filipino families, or the proportion of Filipino

families in extreme poverty, was estimated at 9.2 percent during the first
semester of 2015. In the same period in 2012, the proportion of families in
extreme poverty was recorded at 10.0 percent 6.
In addition to the thresholds and incidences, the PSA also releases other
poverty-related statistics in the report such as the income gap, poverty gap and
severity of poverty. The income gap measures the average income required by
the poor in order to get out of poverty, expressed relative to the poverty
threshold. The poverty gap refers to the income shortfall (expressed in
proportion to the poverty threshold) of families with income below the poverty
threshold, divided by the total number of families. The severity of poverty is the
total of the squared income shortfall (expressed in proportion to the poverty
threshold) of families with income below the poverty threshold, divided by the
total number of families. This is a poverty measure that is sensitive to income
distribution among the poor.

In the first semester of 2015, on the average, incomes of poor families were short
by 29.0 percent of the poverty threshold. This means that on the average, an
additional monthly income of Php 2,649 is needed by a poor family with five
members in order to move out of poverty in the first semester of 2015.

Pandemic could push 1.5 million Filipinos into poverty

AUG 10, 2020

MICHELLE ABAD

The coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the economy could lead to 1.5 million
Filipinos becoming poor, according to the Philippine Institute for Development
Studies (PIDS) in an August 2020 study.
“The government and all Filipinos should ensure that the poor are at the center of
policy attention, especially given all the reduced economic activities from COVID-
19 and the likely undercounts of COVID-19 infection among the poor, who do not
have the luxury to seek health care, and for whom ‘washing hands’ is also a
luxury,” the report said.

Released in the first week of August, the study made its projections based on
scenarios and assumptions, as the exact impact of COVID-19 on poverty is not
available at this time.

Projected poverty impact

PIDS estimated the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in the Philippines by

simulating low, medium, and high contractions of 5%, 10%, and 20% respectively
of the entire income distribution. This allows us to see scenarios wherein
everyone's incomes are decreased by those percentages.

The study uses the food poverty and total poverty lines in 2018 data as the
baselines – 5.3% and 16.8% respectively. A poverty line is the standard of the
government in naming who are poor based on their household income.

According to PIDS senior research fellow Jose Ramon Albert, a household is

considered "poor" if it spends less than P2,200 ($44) per person a month.
Meanwhile, when a household spends less than P1,540 ($31) per person a
month, then it is "food poor" or "extremely poor."

From 5.3%, the proportion of extremely poor Filipinos can increase by 1.1% if
everyone’s incomes decrease by 5%. If the ESP and SBWS are completed in
this setting, the extreme poverty incidence would drop to 4.4%. This is the only
situation on PIDS' projections where there would be less poor Filipinos after the
pandemic, supposing there is an equal income decrease for everyone.
At 10% income contraction, extremely poor Filipinos would increase by 2.4%
without ESP and SBWS. If the programs were successful, food poverty would
increase by only 0.3%.

In the worst case scenario that all incomes should decrease by 20%, extreme
poverty incidence would more than double at 11.4%. But should the ESP and
SBWS be successful, food poverty would increase by 3.5%.

It would also take years longer for low-income families to escape poverty.

“Under tougher conditions of income contractions of 20% with social protection

cash assistance, we simulate that the average time for low income Filipinos to
move up into middle income class would increase by 3 years from baseline
figures,” the report said.

PIDS also acknowledged there are non-monetary poverty impacts of COVID-19

such as health (e.g. immunization coverage, malnutrition) and education.

Economic impact

International organizations’ prospects on the Philippines’ growth are at odds with

each other.

The Asian Development Bank expects the economy to grow at 2% in 2020, while
the International Monetary Fund projects a 0.6% increase this year.

However, the World Bank projected growth in the Philippines to decline to 3% in

the baseline, and further expects a -0.5% in the lower-case scenario in 2020,
from 5.9% in 2019.

Duque says Philippines is not a third world country with weak healthcare
system; reports show otherwise
Angelle De Leon
2/6/2020
Amid the threat of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), Health Secretary
Francisco Duque III on Monday said the Philippines was not a third world country
with a weak healthcare system.
n an interview with DZMM, Duque said he does not think that the Philippines is
one of those countries being referred to by the World Health Organization (WHO)
with weak healthcare systems.
Last week, the WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global
health emergency.
It also expressed fears of its impact in countries with weak healthcare systems,
where it could potentially infect millions of people and kill thousands.
When asked if the Philippines was among countries with a weak healthcare
system, Duque said “no.”
“Hindi. Palagay ko ang binabanggit nila diyan tingin ko Africa, mga mahihirap na
mga bansa. ‘Yung sinasabi nila, ‘yung weak health system ‘yung mga talagang
mahihirap na bansa,” he noted.
“‘Yun ang mga tinutukoy nila na weak health system na mahirap, mga developing
third world countries. Eh tayo middle-income country na. Hindi tayo kasama
diyan,” he added
ased on the latest United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, the
Philippines’ per capita gross domestic product (GDP), human development index
(HDI), and life expectancy sit well below the thresholds for developed country
status.
The country’s infant mortality rate is also very high, its industrialization is minimal,
and many of its citizens lack access to quality healthcare and higher education.
In the 2019 Human Development Report, the Philippines, with an HDI value of
0.712, placed 106th out of the 189 countries and territories.
Its infant mortality rate is 22 per 1,000 live births and its life expectancy is 71
years.
The per capita GDP in the Philippines is $7,943, well below any accepted
minimum for developed country status.
The HDI is a metric to assess the social and economic development levels of
countries.
It quantifies life expectancy, educational attainment, and income into a
standardized number between zero and one; the closer to one, the more
developed the country.
No minimum requirement exists for a developed country status, but most
developed countries have HDIs of 0.8 or higher.
Last October, the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic
Forum showed that the Philippines slipped eight notches down – placing 64th out
of 141 countries.
Of the 12 areas measured — institutions, infra, health, labor market, information
communications technology adoption, macroeconomic stability, skills, product
market, financial system, market size, business dynamism — the Philippines’
lowest ranking was in health at 102nd overall.
The Philippines is historically a third world country and is currently a developing
country based on these reports.
On February 5, the Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed the third nCoV
case in the country.
A 60-year-old Chinese woman, who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan, China last
January 20, tested positive for the nCov.
The government is also monitoring 133 other individuals, who may have been
exposed to the virus.
The novel coronavirus has already infected more than 20,000 people worldwide
and killed over 400 others — all in China except one in the Philippines.

Filipino families considering themselves poor rise to 5-year high in Q4

By Ian Nicolas Cigaral(Philstar.com) - January 23, 2020 - 6:32pm

MANILA, Philippines — The proportion of Filipino families considering

themselves poor surged to a five-year high of 13.1 million in the final three
months of 2019, a new Social Weather Stations survey released Thursday found.

Results of a December 13 to 16 poll of 1,200 adults showed self-rated poverty

climbed 54% in the fourth quarter, 12 points higher than 42% (estimated 10.3
million families) recorded in the preceding three months.
“By area, the [self-rated poverty] rates are 67% in the Visayas, 64% in Mindanao,
47% in Balance Luzon, and 41% in Metro Manila,” the pollster said.
According to SWS, 1.6 million Filipino households became “newly poor” in the
fourth quarter last year. The report also revealed that as of December, poor
families said they need a minimum monthly budget of P12,000 to survive, but
they lack P5,000 of that amount.

Meanwhile, 35% of respondents, or an estimated 8.6 million families, rated the

food they eat as “poor” in the fourth quarter. SWS said poor households need a
minimum
monthly food budget of P5,000 so they can afford foods that are not considered
poor, but they lack P3,000 of the required amount.
Last month, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that poverty incidence
among individuals — or the proportion of Filipinos whose incomes fell below the
poverty threshold — stood at 16.6% in 2018, lower than the revised 23.3%
recorded in 2015.
The latest poverty result translates to a reduction of around 5.9 million poor
individuals to 17.6 million in 2018 compared to 23.5 million in 2015.
The Duterte administration wants to slash poverty incidence to 11% by 2022, a
more ambitious goal than their original target of 14%.

Poverty rate seen to rise this year

Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star ) - June 10, 2020 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos will be plunged into poverty this year even
as government cash transfers and wage subsidies attempt to blunt the effects of
the economic fallout from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
on the most vulnerable, according to the World Bank.

“We expect an increase in the poverty rate,” World Bank senior economist Rong
Qian said at a virtual press conference yesterday.

“We did a simulation. Assuming only two months of loss of income in the poor
and vulnerable population, the poverty rate can increase by 3.3 percentage
points in 2020,”

He noted that this assumption is based on two months of loss of income with no
provision of social protection by the government.
Even as the government provides cash subsidies for the poorest households and
wage subsidies for businesses struggling to retain their employees, this can only
alleviate the ill-effects of the economic contraction.

Cause:

1. Philippines is still under the high rate of poverty, and the major factor of this is
the economic growth not being aided to citizens who needed it the most. Some of
the basis behind these are the government's lack of attention towards Filipinos
who are struggling to make a living despite of having multiple jobs. Funds are
also not being distributed equally to where it is most useful for people. Corruption
also contributes this issue. It is very prevalent even down the smallest unit of
authority, so much that it is not being questioned anymore because of its
normalcy.

2. The reason behind why the Philippines is still at a high pace of insolvency is a
result of the prohibitive isolate during the year 2020. Another rush of stricter
control measure which could hose monetary exercises, lower utilization
development, and postpone the usage of public foundation projects, driving the
economy into a more profound downturn. Being vulnerable against normal
disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, which recently
bothered the experiencing of Filipinos previously reeling the wellbeing and
financial ills perpetrated by COVID-19. Given the recurrence of disastrous events
that hit the country, the effect of these occasions on the speed of financial
recuperation is exceptionally questionable.

3. Back when the coronavirus pandemic has just started, one factor that
contributes to the rising percentage is the resources becoming limited and
expenses becoming higher to the point that many Filipinos cannot afford to buy
their necessities. With the poverty rate rapidly getting higher with each day, it is
becoming harder for a lot of citizens to keep up and survive in this pandemic
affected lifestyle. Due to this pandemic, majority of the citizens are suffering to
live their everyday life in poverty. Where also lot of businesses is closing
because of the Pandemic. Even if the majority are doing everything that they can
to live in this pandemic their efforts were just insufficient therefore causing them
to suffer. The government isn't providing any major support to the citizens in
need especially in regards to their food supplement and healthcare.
Effects:
1. Due to these reasons, the flawed economic growth model that only makes the
rich grow richer; an economy where inefficient economic sectors are protected
from competition, which could bring down the cost of goods and services. No
matter how people below middleclass family do multiple jobs regularly, they still
struggle to make ends meet. Even so, people who are below poverty line have it
worse. Their earnings are so low, that it is not enough to even buy a meal at least
three times a day. Or the worst thing is they cannot find a proper job. Without the
help and guidance of the government, the poorest regions just get larger and
larger as days goes by. The more it is being ignored, the more the problem in
poverty grows and much harder to ease down.

2. Many people decided to close their businesses due to health and economic
crises caused by the natural calamity and by the covid 19 pandemic. Which the
businesses did not recover in the crisis. Where a lot of staff and worker of the
company is affected by the closing of the business because they are going to lost
their job especially those people who are in need in money. Which can lead in to
rising of poverty and reduces the productivity of the economic output of the
Philippines.

3. The majority of them are helping to address this new normal in our setting and
economy. Filipinos are affected, as citizens of the Philippines have been seen
rallying for assistance. Where majority of people and the government
experiencing scarcity in supplies. The Philippines' per capita gross domestic
product (GDP), human development index (HDI), and life expectancy are all far
below the criteria for developed country status, according to the latest United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) survey. Infant mortality is also high in the
country, industrialization is limited, and many people lack access to quality
healthcare and higher education. The higher the poverty rate, the poorer the
economic system is and the more ignorant the government is.

References
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year – NEDA.
Retrieved from https://www.cnn.ph/news/2020/9/10/NEDA-poverty-
unemployment-2021.html

Tantuco, V. (2020). Expect increase in poverty as COVID-19 ushers in Duterte's

4th year.
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philippines/
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