The annual per capita food threshold in the Bicol Region in 2006 was estimated at P10,174, up 21.4 percent from the food threshold in 2003. About 81 percent of families and 74.5 percent of individuals had incomes above this subsistence level. The 19 percent subsistence incidence of families in the Bicol Region in 2006 was a slight improvement from the 20.3 percent incidence registered in 2003. In the same manner, the 25.5 percent subsistence incidence of the population in 2006 was an improvement over the 26.6 percent subsistence incidence posted in 2003. Although the actual number of food poor families decreased between the two years, the actual number of food poor individuals increased indicating a large family size of food poor families in 2006.

The food threshold, or food poverty line, is the annual per capita income required or the amount to be spent to satisfy an individual’s basic food requirement. Low-cost food menus are prepared by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) to determine the food threshold. These menus are commonly eaten and generally available in each province and should comply with the 100 percent adequacy of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for energy, which is 2,000 kilocalories and 80 percent adequacy of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. After the menus are prepared, their costs are determined using the prices obtained from surveys of the NSO and the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

The food threshold is multiplied by a raising factor to provide for the basic non-food components in order to determine the poverty threshold. Non-food basic needs consist of fuel light and water, transportation and communication, household operations, personal care and effects, clothing, footwear and other wear, education, medical care, purchase of non-durable furnishings, rent/rental value of occupied dwelling unit and house maintenance and minor repairs. The raising factor is estimated from the expenditure pattern of all FIES sample families whose incomes fall within the upper and lower 10 percentile of the food threshold.

Four out of the six provinces in the Bicol Region registered increased poverty incidence while subsistence incidence increased in only two provinces. Masbate still remains among the 10 poorest provinces in the country. However, it has considerably improved from being the poorest province in 2000 to 3rd poorest in 2003 and ranked 8th poorest province in 2006. The province ranked 10th among provinces with the biggest improvement in poverty situation in 2006 with its 4.5 percentage point decline in incidence. Camarines Norte however, has improved a lot more with its 7.7 percentage point decline in poverty incidence, the fourth largest improvement among provinces in the country. Masbate and Camarines Norte are the only two provinces in the Bicol Region that did not register an increase in poverty incidence among families and the only two provinces in the region that posted double-digit increases in the number of non-poor families. Non-poor families increased by 19.9 percent and 20.5 percent in Masbate and Camarines Norte respectively.

In contrast, Sorsogon posted a 9.8 percentage point increase in poverty incidence, the 7th largest increase among provinces in the country. Sorsogon now has a 43.5 poverty incidence among families. In terms of magnitude of poor families, Sorsogon had the greatest increase at 37.3 percent in 2006 among the provinces in the Bicol Region. Camarines Norte on the other hand, declined by 12.2 percent.

Results of the Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) in Bicol Region indicate the inability of the income of people to cope with the rising costs of food and non-food basic needs. While the poverty threshold increased by 21.3 percent (from P12,379 in 2003 to P15,015 in 2006), the mean per capita income for all income groups increased by only 18.4 percent during the same period. Except for Camarines Norte and Masbate, disparity in average per capita incomes and poverty thresholds painted a dire picture among the lower income groups of the provinces in the region.

In Camarines Norte, poverty threshold increased by 16.7 percent, similar to the increase in the mean per capita income for all income groups. The province’s lower income groups posted greater increases in average per capita income, enough to cope with the increase in prices of basic commodities. In the same way, Masbate’s poverty threshold increased by only 13.9 percent from 2003 to 2006. Its mean per capita income for all income groups increased by 25 percent, more than enough to compensate for the increase in its poverty threshold. It is not surprising therefore that these two provinces are among the provinces in the country with the largest improvement in poverty incidence.

The poor families in the Bicol Region represent 9 percent of the total poor families all over the country, the second highest share of poor families next to Region 6 (Western Visayas). This figure is 0.5 and 0.8-percentage points lower than the region’s share in 2003 and in 2000 respectively. The Bicol Region however, still remains the fourth poorest region in the country in terms of poverty incidence and the second poorest in terms of number of poor families. It is also the second poorest region in the Luzon Island group.

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

Date posted: March 17, 2008