The latest small area poverty estimates prepared by the National Statistical Coordination Board cover 1,622 cities and municipalities in the country
It is a follow up study to the poverty-mapping project funded by the WB-Asia Europe Meeting Trust Fund, which generated provincial and municipal level poverty estimates for 2000.
The Philippine government used the latest estimates to identify the poorest municipalities for its conditional cash transfer program as well as inputs for its Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas program
MANILA, December 23, 2009— Helping the poor has, ever since, been a lofty but worthy goal for every development organization. But who are "the poor?" Where doe they live? Where are the poorest municipalities in the Philippines? How severe is poverty in these areas? Where are the critical areas in terms of poverty indicators?
Questions like these used to baffle policymakers who design development programs and projects at the community level. The only official statistics on poverty they could find have been aggregated at the national, regional and provincial levels—not so useful for planning at the city and municipal level.
This challenge is a thing of the past, with the release of the latest 2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates prepared by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), and funded by the World Bank Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (WB TFSCB). These small area poverty estimates cover 1,622 cities and municipalities in the country. It’s a follow up study to the poverty-mapping project funded by the WB-Asia Europe Meeting Trust Fund, which generated provincial and municipal level poverty estimates for 2000.
"Small area poverty estimates are a very effective tool in the targeting of beneficiaries of programs and projects, policy formulation and planning, and poverty monitoring," said NSCB Secretary General Romulo Virola, stressing that small area estimates are increasingly being used by governments worldwide to design development interventions.
The study contains statistical information on the poorest cities and municipalities, with emphasis on three indicators, namely municipalities with the highest poverty incidence (or number of individuals below the poverty line), municipalities with the highest poverty gap (The mean distance below the poverty line as a proportion of the poverty line ), municipalities with highest severity of poverty (a measure of inequality among the poor), and critical municipalities in terms of the three poverty measure.
The study has identified 31 critical municipalities with high estimates in these three poverty indicators and most are in Mindanao. Only three are in Luzon while five are in the Visayas. The municipality of Siayan of Zamboanga del Norte tops the list.
"Many residents of Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte are poor with incomes that are far from the poverty line. In addition, the poor residents are in a very severe poverty state. Hence, being first in terms of the three poverty measures indicates that a considerable amount of resources is needed to alleviate poverty in this area," said the study.
It is in Region 9 where most of these critical municipalities can be found, specifically in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur. Other municipalities are from Lanao del Norte of Region 10, Davao del Sur of Region 11 and Agusan del Sure of the Caraga Region.
World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman said producing small area poverty estimates statistics on poverty is one big step in addressing poverty in the Philippines.
"Basic information on where the poor are, what municipalities and provinces have the greatest number of poor families, and the severity of poverty in different municipalities and provinces helps policy makers in designing better ways to deliver infrastructure and social services and to the poor," said Mr. Hofman. "It’s a key ingredient in making growth work for the poor."
"Over the next few years, we have agreed to intensively work with the statistical agencies in the Philippines to support better, more timely, and more policy relevant statistics," added Mr. Hofman. We have started support in the national accounts area, and are looking forward to expanding our engagement in the area of household surveys and poverty statistics and the strengthening of the government’s next Philippine Statistical Development Plan."
Early this year (April 13), the World Bank and the Philippine Government signed a US$400,000 grant agreement to help the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) and the National Statistics Office (NSO) improve its capacity to undertake a major revision of the Philippine System of National Accounts (PSNA) and enhance the quality and usefulness of the national accounts in policy analysis, development planning and decision making.
The government has started to benefit from the small area poverty estimates. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) used the small area poverty estimates to identify the poorest municipalities for its conditional cash transfer (CCT) program called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The 4Ps provides cash subsidies to the poorest of the poor to improve their families’ health, nutritional, and educational status.
The Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Health, the Professional Regulation Commission, and the Board of Nursing used the 2003 small area estimates as inputs in the Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas (NARS). This is a project that aims to improve delivery of health care in 1,000 poorest municipalities in the country.
RSS