Apayao, Ifugao among the poorest provinces

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By KIMBERLIE NGABIT-QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The only provinces of Luzon included in Club 20 or the 20 poorest provinces in the country are found in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Apayao and Ifugao are the only provinces of Luzon included in the list of poorest provinces based on the latest Poverty Statistics released by the National Statistics Coordinating Board (NSCB). Apayao is second only to Lanao del Sur and Ifugao at number seven. The other provinces included in the Club 20 are mostly from regions of Mindanao and Vizayas.

According to the NSCB Poverty Statistics covering the first semester of 2012 released last April, 59.8% of families in Apayao are living below the poverty line. A 15.8% increase from the 43.9% poverty incidence of the province in 2009.

Ifugao on the other hand has a poverty incidence of 47.5% covering the first half of 2012 a 19.1% increase from its 28.4% rating in 2009.

Despite reports that Kalinga graduated from Club 20, the NSCB still recorded an increase in the poverty incidence in Kalinga with 29.4% for 2012 compared to the 25.8% in 2009.

The other Cordillera provinces meanwhile recorded a decrease in poverty incidence. Mountain Province recorded the highest decrease with 8% followed by Abra with 7.4% and Benguet with 2.7%. Mountain Province’s poverty incidence is pegged at 34.6% in 2012 from 42.6% in 2009; Abra with 34.4% from 41.8% and Benguet with 4.3% from the previous 7%.

CAR as a whole recorded a very slight decrease in poverty incidence rating with 22.6% in 2012 from the 22.7% in 2009.

According to NSCB reports, poverty incidence is the proportion of people earning below the poverty threshold to the total population.

Based on the same NSCB data the poverty threshold in CAR is P9,734. This means a family of five should earn at least P9,734 month to be able to meet their basic food and non-food needs. The poverty threshold slightly varies in the different provinces.

Mountain Province has the highest poverty threshold pegged at P10,573 followed by Ifugao with P9,999; Abra, P9,908; Benguet, P9,407; Apayao, P9,336 and Kalinga, P8,712.

The NSCB report indicated that the income gap in CAR is 33.4%. This means that poor families in CAR needs to earn at least P2,710 a month to move out of poverty.

According to the data of the National Wages and Productivity Commission of the Department of Labor and Employment (NWPC-DOLE) the daily minimum wage in Baguio City and Benguet is pegged at P280 for non-agriculture workers and P262 for agriculture workers. The minimum wage for non-agriculture workers in the other parts of the region is P263 and P246 for agriculture workers.

Based on the NSCB poverty threshold for CAR a family of five needs at least P342.46 a day to meet their basic needs. # nordis.net