NSCB - Press Release - Pinoy families needed P5,464 per month in 2004 to keep out of poverty

Pinoy families needed P5,464 per month in 2004
to keep out of poverty
(PR-200603-SS1-03, Posted 15 March 2006)

Juan dela Cruz, who managed to make ends meet in 2003, had to earn 5.1 percent more income the following year so as not to be considered poor. This translated to the minimum annual per capita income requirement of P13,113 for 2004, of which P8,734 was intended for sustaining food needs and the balance of P4,379, for other basic needs. With this threshold, a family of five had to have a regular source of income amounting to P65,565 for the year or P5,464 per month to be able to meet their essential needs.

In urban areas, the poverty threshold was placed at P15,001 in 2004, around 5.8 percent over the 2003 threshold of P14,178. Poverty threshold in rural areas went up slightly faster by 7.3 percent from P11, 589 in 2003 to P12,431 in 2004.

Table 1. Poverty Thresholds: All Areas, Urban and Rural, Philippines
2003-2004

2003 Poverty Threshold (in PhP)			2004 Poverty Threshold (in PhP)			Growth Rate (in %)
All areas	Urban	Rural	All areas	Urban	Rural	All areas	Urban	Rural
12,475	14,178	11,589	13,113	15,001	12,431	5.1	5.8	7.3

These are among the highlights noted in the 2004 estimates of food and poverty thresholds released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). The methodology used to come up with these estimates followed the same approach adopted in the computation of the 2003 poverty statistics as approved by the Technical Committee on Poverty Statistics.

Following the regional trend that persisted in the past two decades, the National Capital Region (NCR) continued to exhibit the highest poverty threshold in 2003 and 2004. A resident of the metropolis needed to have an annual income of P17,737 to meet food and non-food needs in 2004. Also, the estimates suggest that a non-agricultural worker residing in Metro Manila and earning the minimum wage of P300 per working day in 2004 had enough to support a family of five over the poverty line.

For most of the provinces, the income ridge separating the poor from the non-poor (poverty threshold) grew by 5 to 10 percent. Meeting life’s basic necessities appeared to be more challenging for people living in Batangas and Cavite in the Calabarzon (Region IV-A), and Bulacan in Region III, particularly those belonging to the lower income groups. These provinces topped the ranking in terms of the poverty threshold (Table 2). Noticeably, all 10 provinces with the highest thresholds are in Luzon.

Table 2. Top 10 in Provincial Poverty Threshold
2003-2004

Province	Poverty Threshold (in PhP)		Rank
Province	2003	2004	2003	2004
NCR	16,796	17,737
Batangas	15,950	16,836	2	1
Bulacan	15,031	16,079	4	2
Cavite	16,128	15, 950	1	3
Mt. Province	14,835	15,929	5	4
Abra	14,449	15,563	6	5
Benguet	14,426	15,474	8	6
Pampanga	15,109	15,322	3	7
Batanes	14,439	15,240	7	8
Rizal	13,904	14,825	10	9
Laguna	13,902	14,743	11	10

Ranking excludes NCR, and the cities of Isabela and Cotabato

Figuratively, minimum wage earners in Metro Manila could have enjoyed their money’s worth more if they were living in Negros Oriental, Zamboanga Sibugay, or Siquijor, the provinces with the lowest poverty thresholds in 2004 (Table 3). Of the 10 provinces with low thresholds, six are in the Visayas, three in Mindanao, and one in Luzon.

Table 3. Bottom 10 in Provincial Poverty Threshold
2003-2004

Province	Poverty Threshold (in PhP)		Rank
Province	2003	2004	2003	2004
Negros Oriental	8,952	10,324	79	79
Zamboanga Sibugay	9,559	10,338	78	78
Siquijor	9,770	10,616	77	77
Biliran	11,138	10,965	61	76
Northern Samar	9,957	11,044	76	75
Cagayan	10,316	11,054	73	74
Cebu	10,224	11,083	74	73
Bohol	10,018	11,164	75	72
Basilan	11,003	11,299	63	71
Zamboanga del Sur	10,317	11,323	72	70

Ranking excludes NCR, and the cities of Isabela and Cotabato

The annual per capita food threshold for the Philippines in 2004 stood at P8,734, an 8.6 percent increase over the 2003 food threshold of P8,039. The 2004 figure is equivalent to P3,640 per month for a family consisting of five members for it to be able to meet its minimum food needs.

Urban food thresholds remained higher than rural food thresholds. In 2004, the urban food threshold was placed at P9,569, and the rural food threshold, at P8,548.

Table 4. Food Thresholds: All Areas, Urban and Rural, Philippines
2003-2004

2003 Food Threshold (in PhP)			2004 Food Threshold (in PhP)			Growth Rate (in %)
All areas	Urban	Rural	All areas	Urban	Rural	All areas	Urban	Rural
8,039	9,009	7,945	8,734	9,569	8,548	8.6	6.2	7.6

It was observed that pork products contributed largely to the increase in food thresholds. In general, price inflation for meat from 2003 to 2004 was placed at 13.0 percent. On the other hand, the increase in rice prices, estimated at a much lower rate of about 2.6 percent, also contributed to the increase in food thresholds. Rice, being served on the tables of most Filipino families, accounts for a considerable share of the food menu, about 33 percent on the average, but reaching as high as 40 percent for some provinces, such as Batanes, Ilocos Sur, Capiz, Zamboanga del Sur, as well as NCR.

ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary General

Contact Person:

Ms. Redencion M. Ignacio / Ms. Glenita V. Amoranto
Tel. No.: (+6 32) 896-5390
E-mail: rm.ignacio@nscb.gov.ph / gv.amoranto@nscb.gov.ph

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