Poverty in the Philippines

Poverty has always remained a critical social problem that calls to be addressed. Philippines' latest poverty line for 2014 marks a per capita income of 100,534 pesos a year. According to the data from the National Statistical Coordination Board, more than one-quarter of the population fell below the poverty line the first semester of 2014, an approximate 78 per cent increase since 2013.

The increase in poverty has been rapid and uneven,compared to broadly similar numbers in the 1980s, such as People's Republic of Cuba (PRC), Thailand, Indonesia or Vietnam. This shows that the incidence of poverty has remained significantly high as compared to other countries for almost a decade. The unevenness of the decline has been attributed to a large range of income brackets across regions and sectors, and unmanaged population growth. The Philippines poverty rate is roughly the same level as Haiti.

The government planned to eradicate poverty as stated in the Philippines Development Plan 2011-2016 (PDP). The PDP for those six years are an annual economic growth of 7-8% and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under the MDGs, Philippines committed itself to halving extreme poverty from a level of 33.1% in 1991 to 16.6% by 2015.

The Annual Poverty Indicator Survey, or APIS, is a survey held nationwide, administered by the National Statistics Office, World Bank Mission, and the United Nations Development Programme. It provides data on the different non-income indicators related to poverty and is held every year except for years when the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, or FIES, is being administered. The survey provides data on the socio-economic profile and the living conditions of families in 78 provinces and all cities and municipalities of Metro Manila. The Family Income and Expenditure Survey, on the other hand, provides the same major and specified details of expenditures but over a larger sample area extending to provinces and municipalities across the Philippines.

Poverty Threshold, also known as Poverty Line, is the minimum income required to meet basic food needs and other non-food requirements such as clothing, housing, transportation, health, and education expenses. Food Threshold is the minimum income required to meet basic food needs and satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) to ensure that one remains economically and socially productive. Recent estimates for the Poverty and Food Thresholds has been consistently increasing. Food threshold, being the estimate for minimum food expenditures, consistently comprise around 70% of the minimum income requirement or poverty threshold.

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