EDITORIAL

Number of poor persons in Cordillera up — NSCB

It is no wonder if the number of poor families in the Cordillera has gone up. A statistical report released by the Cordillera office of the National Statistical Coordination Board said 506,823 individuals in the six provinces of the Cordillera are poor.

The report stated that the poor individuals are earning an annual per-capita income of P16,810 or less. The number of poor individuals in the region represents a 13.9 percent increase in the number of poverty-stricken persons, compared to the 445,036 poor individuals listed in 2003.

Based on the NSCB report, the poverty census covered the period from 2003 to 2006. It stated that the poverty incidence in the region rose from 25.8 percent in 2003 to 28.8 percent in 2006. The NSB defined "poverty incidence of families" as the proportion of poor families to the total number of families in the region.

In magnitude, the total number of poor families grew by 20.8 percent or 87,050 families in 2006. The report stated a family of five needs at least P84,050 annually in order not to fall under the category of poor families. The poverty line or poverty threshold refers to the annual per-capita income required or the amount to be spent to satisfy basic food requirements and other non-food basic needs.

Apayao is considered to be the poorest of the six provinces in the region, with poverty incidence of 57.5 percent, nearly four folds since 2003. Apayao is followed by Abra with 40.1 percent poverty incidence.

The national government revitalized its efforts to fight poverty in the region after the NSCB office in the Cordillera reported that the poverty situation in Benguet, Mountain Province, and Kalinga had improved with the decline in poverty incidence of families and population in 2006.

The poverty-alleviation programs being implemented in Abra and Apayao include the cash assistance program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, rice subsidy for poor families, power subsidy, assistance to senior citizens, and various livelihood programs.

Economists in the region predict that with the down trend in the prices of oil and other basic commodities worldwide, the poverty incidence in the different Cordillera provinces would go down. Government officials say they have focused attention on implementation of programs relative to food security and anti-poverty projects in the country like the Cordillera.


But many projects do not reach the grassroots level because of corruption and bureaucratic red tape. The people are becoming indifferent to charges of corruption in government due to the series of corruption scandals involving government officials which had beset the country. In most parts of this Banana Republic like northern Luzon, the sentiment is no change for the better like weeding out corrupt government officials would change unless the upright ones are installed come 2010.