SWS: Poor families rise to 11.1M

Philippine Daily Inquirer

1:43 am | Friday, May 4th, 2012

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/186983/sws-poor-families-rise-to-11-1m

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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) and they do not even think carefully of the circumstances that it will occur in their life. Now, they will blame those leaders in the actions they made and they are responsible of. Saying, that, "wala kaming mahanap na trabaho", "wala kaming ma-ipantustos sa aming mga anak", "hindi sapat ang pera namin para sa pangaraw-araw na pagkain", "hindi namin kaya pagaralin silang lahat", and so on.

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.

Now, the problem is, how are we going to address the leaders in the Government in order to lessen poverty rate in the Philippines, as well as those people that were affected in poverty. I think EDUCATION, FAMILY PLANNING (RH Bill), RESPONSIBILITY, HARD-WORK, PERSEVERANCE, and TEAM WORK would really bring a huge help in minimizing poverty rate in the country.

"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