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Press Release
Metro Manila families needed P7,854 per month in 2005
to keep out of poverty 
(PR-200702-SS1-01, Posted 15 February 2007)
Sustaining an “economically-decent” lifestyle is still most onerous for people residing at the National Capital Region (NCR) as it posted the highest annual per capita poverty threshold amounting to P18,859 in 2005, a 6.3 percent increase over the 2004 threshold of P17,737. With this threshold, an average-size family of five members living in the metropolis should have earned a monthly income of P7,854. Hence, for a family of this size, a sole breadwinner should have had a take-home pay of P259 daily in 2005. For such amount, the nanays can make ends meet by allocating approximately P154 for food and the remaining P105 for the non-food needs of the family.
Table 1. Daily poverty and food thresholds for a family of five residing in NCR
2004 |
2005 |
Difference |
||
Level |
% |
|||
Poverty threshold |
243.11 |
258.36 |
15.25 |
6.2 |
Food threshold |
144.35 |
153.50 |
9.14 |
6.3 |
On a more general perspective, the annual per capita poverty threshold for the country was estimated at P14,196, higher by 8.3 percent over the P13,113 noted in 2004. In urban areas, poverty threshold was placed at P15,992 in 2005, around 6.6 percent over the 2004 threshold of P15,001. Poverty threshold in rural areas also increased by 6.5 percent – from P12,431 in 2004 to P13,241 in 2005. Table 2 shows that urban-rural disparity in terms of poverty thresholds did not improve between 2004-2005, remaining constant over the two years. That is, the observed gap between these two areas was around 21 percentage points, with families living in the rural areas being at a disadvantage.
Table 2.1 Annual per capita poverty thresholds for urban and rural areas
2004-2005
|
All Areas |
Urban Areas |
Rural Areas |
Urban-Rural Difference |
|
Level |
% |
||||
2004 |
13,113 |
15,001 |
12,431 |
2,570 |
20.7 |
2005 |
14,196 |
15,992 |
13,241 |
2,751 |
20.8 |
Table 2.2 Daily poverty thresholds for a family of five in urban and rural areas
2004-2005
|
All Areas |
Urban Areas |
Rural Areas |
Urban-Rural Difference |
|
Level |
% |
||||
2004 |
179.73 |
205.61 |
170.38 |
35.22 |
20.7 |
2005 |
194.57 |
219.19 |
181.48 |
37.71 |
20.8 |
Among the provinces, closest to NCR not only in terms of proximity but also in terms of the income needed to sustain their minimum basic needs for the year 2005 were Batangas, Cavite, and Bulacan, with thresholds pegged at P17,165, P17,157, and P16,506, respectively (Table 3). On the other hand, Laguna’s poverty threshold is placed at P15,639, approximately 17 percent lower than that of NCR’s. It should be noted that all ten provinces with the highest thresholds are in Luzon.
Table 3. Highest Provincial Poverty Threshold
2005
Province |
Poverty Thresholds |
Rank |
||
2004 |
2005 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
NCR |
17,675 |
18,859 |
|
|
Batangas |
16,836 |
17,165 |
1 |
1 |
Cavite |
15,950 |
17,157 |
3 |
2 |
Bulacan |
16,079 |
16,506 |
2 |
3 |
Pampanga |
15,322 |
16,377 |
7 |
4 |
Abra |
15,563 |
16,294 |
5 |
5 |
Mt. Province |
15,929 |
16,169 |
4 |
6 |
Rizal |
14,825 |
16,114 |
9 |
7 |
Nueva Ecija |
14,537 |
15,809 |
15 |
8 |
Benguet |
15,474 |
15,653 |
6 |
9 |
Laguna |
14,743 |
15,639 |
10 |
10 |
The lowest poverty threshold, on the other hand, was in Siquijor, at P10,774, followed by Negros Oriental, P10,990, and Zamboanga Sibugay, P11,500 (Table 4). Of the 10 provinces with the lowest poverty thresholds in 2005, two are in Luzon, seven in the Visayas, and one in Mindanao.
Province |
Poverty Thresholds |
Rank |
||
2004 |
2005 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
Siquijor |
10,616 |
10,774 |
77 |
79 |
Negros Oriental |
10,324 |
10,990 |
79 |
78 |
Zamboanga Sibugay |
10,338 |
11,500 |
78 |
77 |
Cagayan |
11,054 |
11,863 |
74 |
76 |
Bohol |
11,164 |
11,986 |
71 |
75 |
Cebu |
11,083 |
12,052 |
72 |
74 |
Romblon |
12,097 |
12,124 |
59 |
73 |
Biliran |
10,965 |
12,293 |
76 |
72 |
Antique |
11,839 |
12,406 |
61 |
71 |
Southern Leyte |
11,644 |
12,448 |
62 |
70 |
Annual per capita food threshold refers to the minimum amount needed by an individual to buy food items that satisfy nutritional requirements to enable him/her to perform economically necessary and socially desirable physical activities. The 2005 poverty statistics show that NCR remains to record the highest thresholds among all areas of the country, whether in terms of food or poverty, with an annual per capita food threshold of P11,199, a 6.3 percent increase from the P10,532 posted in 2004 (Table 1). On the other hand, the annual per capita food threshold for the country was estimated at P9,350 in 2005, a 7.1 percent increase over the 2004 threshold of P8,734 (Table 1).
Notes:
1. Per Executive Order 352, Designation of Statistical Activities that will Generate Critical Data for Decision-making of the Government and the Private Sector, official poverty statistics are released by the National Statistical Coordination Board using the methodology approved by the NSCB Executive Board based on the recommendations of the Technical Committee on Poverty Statistics.
2. The methodology used to come up with these estimates followed the same approach adopted in the computation of the 2004 food and poverty thresholds incorporating updated information on food consumption among Filipino families, as derived from the 2003 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI).
ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary General
Contact Persons:
Ms. Jessamyn O. Encarnacion; Mr. Arturo M. Martinez, Jr.
Tel. No.: (63-2) 896-5390
E-mail: jo.encarnacion@nscb.gov.ph; am.martinez@nscb.gov.ph
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