SWS: Poor families rise to 11.1M
1:43 am | Friday, May 4th, 2012
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An estimated 11.1 million Filipino
households considered themselves poor in March, up from 9.1 million households
in December, a recent survey by Social Weather Stations found.
The results of the survey, first
published in Business World, found 55 percent of respondents rating their
households poor, 10 points higher than the 45 percent three months earlier.
Those who said they were poor in terms
of food accounted for 45 percent, which translates to approximately 9.1 million
families, a rise of nine points from the 36 percent or 7.2 million families
recorded in the previous quarter.
The figures are the highest so far
under the Aquino administration.
SWS used face-to-face interviews for
the noncommissioned survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3
percentage points for national percentages and plus or minus 6 percentage
points for area percentages.
The record for self-rated poverty was
posted in July 1985 at 74 percent under the Marcos regime, while the record for
self-rated food poverty was posted at 59 percent under the Ramos administration
in April 1994 and in September 2002 under the Arroyo administration.
Reacting to the survey, Malacañang on
Thursday said it was “natural” to see fluctuations in the levels of self-rated
poverty because the government’s antipoverty programs were taking time to be
significantly felt.
Programs take time
Secretary Edwin Lacierda, President
Benigno Aquino III’s spokesperson, acknowledged that perceptions of poverty
were among the indicators the administration was looking at.
“As we have said in the beginning,
antipoverty programs take some time before the effects are felt on a sustained
basis,” Lacierda said in a news briefing.
“In the meantime, it is natural to see
fluctuations in self-rated poverty,” he said.
Lacierda, nonetheless, provided
anecdotal evidence of the government’s conditional cash transfer program
benefiting target beneficiaries.
“We have heard for instance, when we were
in Roxas City… one mother showed how her child was able to buy a new school
bag, new shoes. She was also able to buy vitamins for her child,” Lacierda
said.
For the survey, SWS showed a card to
1,200 adults nationwide and asked them, “Where would you place your family on
this card?” The choices included “not poor,” “on the line” and “poor.”
Self-rated poverty climbed sharply in
Mindanao (72 percent in March from 38 percent in December). It also rose in the
Visayas (61 percent from 52 percent previously).
The percentages for Metro Manila (46
percent from 47 percent) and the rest of Luzon (the same at 45 percent)
remained basically unchanged.
Self-rated poverty also rose among
those living in the rural areas (66 percent in March from 49 percent in December),
but barely changed among those in the urban areas (40 percent from 41 percent).
Food poverty
For self-rated food poverty, SWS asked
respondents “Based on the type of food eaten by your family, where would you
place your family on this card?” Respondents were made to choose from “not
poor,” “on the line” and “poor.”
Self-rated food poverty surged in
Mindanao (64 percent in March from 30 percent in December). It also rose in the
Visayas (47 percent from 43 percent) but barely changed in Metro Manila (30
percent from 31 percent) and the rest of Luzon (38 percent from 37 percent).
SWS also determined the self-rated
poverty threshold of respondents who considered their households poor or
food-poor by asking how much they needed monthly so as not to consider
themselves poor.
The median poverty threshold rose in
Metro Manila to P12,000 from P10,000, in Luzon outside Metro Manila to P10,000
from P6,000, in the Visayas to P8,000 from P6,000 and in Mindanao to P7,000
from P6,000.
The median food-poverty threshold in
Metro Manila rose to P6,500 from P5,000. In Luzon outside Metro Manila, it rose
to P5,000 from P4,000.
It went up to P4,500 from P3,750 in the
Visayas and to P4,000 from P3,500 in Mindanao. Inquirer Research and Norman Bor
"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that." ---Norman Vincent Peale
Who must be blamed
and put the liability of the conspicuous poverty?
Is
it the governing body of the state, or is it those indigent people within that
state? These questions, made me think intently the kind of casualty that a
certain commonality faces.
Poverty is everywhere
and thus a trending issue and a problem around the world. Literally, it
illustrates the individual’s inability to satisfy its basic needs in terms of
food, clothing, health and shelter. Moreover, it depicts a “snapshot of the
poor”. Yet, it is barely visible in the Philippines.
Here are the following bar graphs that I translated from the results in the news article for you to easily see the changes during the recent surveys of the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Many indigent people lives in “squatter areas” (from
the word squatting, it means the act
of occupying an abandoned space that does not owned, rented (by squatter) or
otherwise doesn’t have the permission to use). Squatting is a prodigious social
and economic problem in the Philippines due to the fluctuating increase of it.
Even the Government cannot really crop it out easily in just one snap, or us
the Filipino citizens.
This kind of catastrophe is very alarming for many
of it are affected, especially those innocent children that were tangled in
this kind of dilemma. Although,
the Government is helping those who were suffering, through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program, yet, it is not enough to support
and sustain the benefits that they are giving to those indigent people. I think individuals should also help themselves, not just letting themselves keep on relying or depending, and EVEN BLAMING and BE INDIGNANT against the Government, especially to the President. Because, at the first place, it is neither the
Government’s nor the President’s responsibility in handling their
decisions
and choosing their own choices in life. They are the one who is responsible of
it and choosing what is good and right for them. Why I say so? (I am sorry if I
might offend some readers, but this is from my own point of view.) Many of Filipino
couples (not to generalize) have big number of families, where mothers are
bearing 6-12 siblings (and these products might or would also do the same until
then the percentage or rate of poverty will swell) 
One of the major reasons why people say that they are poor, it is because, the LACK of EDUCATION. They were not able to finish
their studies or maybe constrained financially, that’s why when they have been already engaged into the father’s
or mother’s responsibility in finding jobs, some of them were not able to have
the opportunity to work and some were not able to work in higher positions. This
causes them to sustain their family inefficiently. Another reason why
individuals were not able to support and sustain their family, it is because
they (the teenagers nowadays) engaged to premarital sex that in the short-run have
resulted to early pregnancy. That some of them were unable to finish their studies.
If
ever I will be in their shoes, maybe I would do something that could help me
achieve my goals. I will go to school and finish my primary and secondary
school (free education in public schools), and supposing that I have accomplished
High school, now I will look for a part-time job (be a working student) or
maybe take up a scholarship in college. After graduating and earning a degree, I
would now have a greater chance to help my family and support them by looking and working in a professional job. I know that it is not that easy to do, but we
can never tell what good opportunities lies ahead.
"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of." ---Confucius
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