THE MOUNTAINEER

Poverty in Mountain Province
EDISON L. BADDAL

The culminating activity for the celebration of October as Statistical Month was conducted through a forum on millennium development goals by staff of the provincial National Statistics Office last Oct. 31. The affair was attended by representatives from different line agencies and local offices in order to be informed on the data collated by the NSO regarding the status of Mountain Province on the different MDG targets.

The first data presented was on MDG No. 1, the “eradication of extreme poverty and hunger”. This goal has two targets, namely: first, 50 percent reduction in the proportion of the people whose income is less than one dollar a day between 1990 and 2015 and second, 50 percent reduction in the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

For the first target, this specific proportion is found in the slums of metropolitan areas and the countrysides notably those in the interior areas or hinterlands where people barely eke out a living. They constitute perhaps more or less than 75 percent of the total population of the country and are also the most mobile section of the total population.

Same sector also experiences the bitter pangs of hunger which the second target intends to eradicate in the same period, 1990 – 2015. Generally, the upliftment from the morass in which the poor and hungry had sunk into is what MDG No. 1 aims to regulate or eradicate altogether. Hunger, which is directly associated with poverty, is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization-United Nations as “a condition in which people do not get enough food to provide nutrients for a fully productive, active and healthy lives.”

It is also described as “a form of severe food insecurity which, if prolonged, can lead to malnutrition.” The causes of hunger are identified as: poverty, unavailability or insufficiency of food to eat, large family size, immorality and base indulgence in vices like cigarettes, alcohol, promiscuous sex, etc. In a table that showed poverty incidence in population by region, the Cordillera ranked as the 11th as of 2003 among all regions in the country.

In another table, poverty incidence by population per province in the Cordillera with the corresponding ranking of each province vis a vis other provinces nationwide was shown for the base years of 1997, 2000 and 2003. For 1997, Mt. Province was ranked as the fifth province in the country with poverty incidence by population and the second-ranked among the six provinces of the Cordillera next to Ifugao.

Three years later in 2000, Mt. Province improved to 11th rank among all provinces and third to the last with Ifugao still ranked as the poorest province in the region. Barely three years , though, in 2003, Mt. Province slid back by four steps from its 11th rank in 2000 to become the seventh province with the most poverty incidence in population.

Most surprisingly, Ifugao, which occupied the fourth rank among the top five provinces in the country with the largest poverty incidence by population both in 1997 and 2000, pole vaulted by improving substantially its status to 52nd in the country and the fourth poorest province in the Cordillera in 2003 where it used to be the poorest province in region in 1997 and 2000. Gauging from the erratic improvement in the battle against poverty in the case of Mt. Province for the years from 1997 to 2000 then 2000 to 2003, one could not help but wonder how this could have happened. Even if one considers the fact that, according to some quarters,
Mt. Province improved slightly from its 7th rank in 2003 to number 8th in 2006, it is still a negligible improvement.

Its nerve-wracking to opine how Mt. Province is rated poor, and among the poorest at that, when nature has been munificent enough to bequeath her with abundant natural resources. In fact, the Mt. Data National Park, which is thickly pine-clad and robust with vegetation, is the headwater of at least several river systems in the Cordillera and also the main source of water supply for provinces in Regions 2 and 3. How it ended up among the provinces occupying the lowest rung in terms of development or financial wealth as compared to other provinces in the country, is mind-boggling. And even among the six provinces in the Cordillera, it is among the poorest.

Put it another way, how can Mt. Province be among the poorest provinces when majority of its people are hardworking even as they are also stalwart people? Proof of this is the startling prosperity achieved by some of her population that migrated to other places in the Cordillera or other regions like Tabuk, Isabela, Manila, Baguio City and some provinces in the Visayas and mindanao. A slew of those who migrated abroad to seek greener pastures managed to prosper also.

Besides, compared with the squatters in the metropolitan areas of the Philippines, almost every household in the province partake of three square meals daily. And to think also that in Mt. Province, hunger because of laziness is considered taboo so that everybody is constrained to work to earn his daily bread and butter.

On the other hand, one is wont to wonder what slick strategies were employed by Ifugao, which used to be the fourth poorest province nationwide and in the CAR as well in 1997 and 2000, to pole vault highly beyond expectations to 52nd in 2003? While it rankles the mind as it considers the demeaning classification of Mt. Province, a reasonable ground to extrapolate an answer lies in the huge jump of Ifugao from 4th poorest province on two successive base years to 52nd in 2003.

One big factor that may brought this about could be the foresight and dedication invested by Gov. Teddy Baguilat during his first term, 2001-2004. I recalled having commended his salubrious leadership in one of my previous columns.

He tirelessly invested his time and effort and optimized the utilization of the minimal resources of his province to delivery of basic services. He bustled on this while synchronously with implementing worthwhile infrastructure projects and enhanced existing infra systems as well. Early in his term as governor, he concentrated on the formulation and implementation of programs that regulated nutritional deficiency among his constituents.

Having foresight to connect the eradication of poverty with improved nutrition, health as well as better school performance for school kids, he vigorously pushed forward his nutrition programs. In the process, his province was hailed once as a CROWN awardee during his first stint. His successor, the late Benjamin Cappleman, obviously continued Baguilat’s beneficial programs as PGMA announced the graduation of Ifugao from the Club 20 poorest provinces in her SONA in July, 2006.

Conversely, Mt. Province was among the prioritized provinces for the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program in the same league with Masbate, the poorest province nationwide, in 2006 due to poor performance in nutrition. This evaluation was done by the National Nutrition Council and the DOH. Ostensibly, its poor performance in nutrition indicates a so-so achievement in its anti-poor programs which seemed to have failed to reach the intended beneficiaries. Indisputably, foresight, let alone prudent hindsight, propelled by dynamic, committed and no-nonsense leadership did the trick for Ifugao.

This was coupled with dependable partnership with Rep. Solomon Chungalao. In fact, the staunch partnership is signified by the implementation of vast infra projects which rendered all municipalities in Ifugao accessible. This is particularly true with Tinoc which was previously considered a God-forsaken land for its inaccessibility in the past. Lately, reports have it that this municipality is being linked by an access road to Kiangan which will render the two-day hike between the two municipalities a thing of the past. Consequently, it will boost the development potentials of both municipalities.

Make no mistake that the aforecited leaders aren’t themselves saints if judged by religious standards but not so much as to compromise the quality of their programs and projects. Practically, SOP is the lifeblood of any politician but many seem to be overdoing it at the expense of quality accomplishment of programs and projects. Thus, pertaining to effectual solidarity and teamwork among officials, the example of the top honchos of Ifugao is an incandescent manifestation.

Di nga ba’t sabi sa isang kanta na kalimitang ginagamit na ice-breaker o panunaw sa katahimikan at kaseryosohan ng mga nagsisidalo sa seminars na “lahat ng bagay ay magagawa basta tayo ay sama-sama.” This is congruent with the “walis-tingting” principle of Rizal which espouses success in any endeavor with solid team-up. For Mt. Province, my lips are sealed with regards to its debased classification and I would rather keep my comments to myself. To paraphrase a noted columnist’s favorite punchline in a weekly tabloid, your comment is as good (or worse) than mine.