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Poverty incidence in the country, which refers to the proportion of families with per capita income below the poverty threshold, was placed at 28.1 percent in 1997 and 28.4 percent in 2000 based on the new provincial poverty methodology recently approved by the NSCB Executive Board. Poverty estimates released by the NSCB also show that in 2000, 4.3 million families or 26.5 million Filipinos, more than one-third (34.0 percent) of the country’s population, were living below the poverty line. These figures indicate an increase over the 1997 levels of 4.0 million families or 24.0 million Filipinos striving to make ends meet. The 2003 poverty statistics will be released by the NSCB after the NSO has finished processing the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) results.

The annual per capita poverty threshold, or the amount required to satisfy food and non-food basic needs at the national level, reached P11,605 in 2000, 17.9 percent higher than the 1997 threshold of P9,843. Thus, a family of five members should have a monthly income of at least P4,835 to meet their food and non-food basic needs.

Among the 77 provinces of the country and the four districts of Metro Manila, Sulu consistently posted the highest poverty incidence in 1997 and 2000 with 67.1 and 63.2 percent, respectively. Also included among the poorest provinces are Masbate, Tawi-Tawi, Ifugao and Romblon. Four provinces of ARMM are among the 10 poorest provinces in the country.

Table 1. Ten Poorest Provinces in 2000

Province	1997	2000	Inc/Dec (%)	Rank ‘97	Rank ‘00
Sulu	67.1	63.2	-3.9	1	1
Masbate	61.4	62.8	1.4	2	2
Tawi-Tawi	35.0	56.5	21.5	40	3
Ifugao	57.7	55.6	-2.1	4	4
Romblon	52.8	55.2	2.4	8	5
Maguindanao	41.6	55.1	13.5	27	6
Lanao del Sur	55.6	55.0	-0.6	7	7
Sultan Kudarat	36.6	54.3	17.7	38	8
Camiguin	32.5	53.1	20.6	49	9
Camarines Norte	49.7	52.7	3.0	10	10

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

On the other hand, the 2nd District (Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City and San Juan) and 4th District (Las Piñas, Makati, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasay City, Pateros, and Taguig) of NCR, posted the lowest poverty incidence with 4.1 and 4.9 percent, respectively. These are followed by Bulacan, 1st District of NCR (Manila), and Batanes.

Table 2. Ten Least Poor Provinces in 2000

Province	1997	2000	Inc/Dec (%)	Rank ‘97	Rank ‘00
2nd District, NCR	4.5	4.1	-0.3	81	81
4th District, NCR	4.6	4.9	0.3	79	80
Bulacan	8.3	5.4	-2.9	73	79
Manila	5.7	5.8	0.1	78	78
Batanes	8.7	7.5	-1.2	72	77
Rizal	8.3	8	-0.2	74	76
Laguna	12.3	8.6	-3.7	71	75
3rd District, NCR	4.6	9	4.4	80	74
Bataan	7.7	9.9	2.3	76	73
Cavite	8	10.2	2.1	75	72

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

Other measures of poverty which provide complementary information on the extent of poverty include the income gap, poverty gap, and the severity of poverty. These indicators provide useful information on the depth of poverty and the overall cost of eliminating poverty through additional income generation.

Table 3. Measures of Poverty, Philippines, 1997 and 2000

Indicator	1997	2000	Difference
Income Gap	29.8	29.6	0.2
Poverty Gap	8.4	8.4	0
Severity of Poverty	3.5	3.4	0.1

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

The income gap in the country was placed at 29.6 percent in 2000, not significantly different from the 29.8 percent income gap computed in 1997. This means that on the average, the family income of poor Filipinos must increase by 29.6 percent of the poverty threshold for them not to be considered as poor.

As shown in Figure 1, in 2000, most (27.2%) of the provinces had income gaps ranging from 27.5 to 30.9 percent. More than half of the provinces actually had income gaps of at least 27.5 percent. At the highest depth of poverty are Saranggani and Mountain Province with income gaps of 40.4 and 38.0 percent, respectively, while at the shallowest end is Batanes with an income gap of only 3.1 percent.

Figure 1. Frequency Histogram of the
Income Gaps of the Provinces, 2000

The poverty gap, on the other hand, indicates by what percentage of the poverty threshold on the average would the income of Filipino families have to be increased for poverty incidence to be zero.

Among the provinces, Masbate has the biggest poverty gap at 22.6 percent, followed by Saranggani at 19.4 percent and Maguindanao at 19.1 percent. The poverty gap figure for Masbate implies that, on the average, the income of families living in that province should be increased by 22.6 percent of the poverty threshold or about P3,051.21 to completely eradicate poverty.

Table 4. Poor Provinces with Large Poverty Gaps, 2000

Province	Poverty Incidence	Rank	Poverty Gap	Rank
Masbate	62.8	2	22.6	1
Saranggani	48	16	19.4	2
Maguindanao	55.1	6	19.1	3
Lanao del Norte	50.8	12	18.8	4
Mt. Province	49	14	18.6	5
Romblon	55.2	5	18.5	6
Ifugao	55.6	4	18.2	7
Abra	48.8	15	17.5	8
Camarines Norte	52.7	10	17.4	9
Zamboanga Norte	45.6	19	17.2	10

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

Finally, the severity of poverty indicator tries to capture the problem of inequality among the poor. In 2000, poverty was found to be most severe in Masbate even if it is only second in ranking in terms of poverty incidence. Sulu recorded the highest poverty incidence in 1997 and 2000, but is not included among the 10 poor provinces with severe poverty. This means that although there are more poor families in Sulu, the incomes of most of these poor families are relatively nearer the poverty threshold. Thus, the poor families in Sulu would need less additional income to get out of poverty compared to the poor families in Masbate.

Table 5. Poor Provinces with Severe Poverty, 2000

Province	Poverty Incidence	Rank	Severity of Poverty	Rank
Masbate	62.81	2	10.1	1
Saranggani	48.01	16	9.7	2
Mt. Province	49.01	14	9.3	3
Lanao del Norte	50.78	12	9	4
Maguindanao	55.14	6	8.7	5
Zamboanga Norte	45.64	19	8.7	6
Romblon	55.16	5	8.2	7
Abra	48.75	15	8.1	8
Ifugao	55.57	4	7.9	9
Oriental Mindoro	43.08	23	7.7	10

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

 

For inquiries, please contact:

Ms. Redencion M. Ignacio or Ms. Bernadette B. Balamban at telephone number 896-5390 or through e-mail addresses rm.ignacio@nscb.gov.ph and bb.balamban@nscb.gov.ph

 

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