REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

15FtB2 011
/1%

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS First Regular Session

9GO

House Resolution No.

Introduced by Kabataan Party-List Rep. Raymond V. Palatino

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON POVERTY ALLEVIATON TO 4 CONDUCT AN INQUIRY, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, ON THE NEW POVERTY 5 MEASUREMENT SCHEME APPROVED BY THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL 6 COORDINATION BOARD WHICH SUBSTANTIALLY LOWERS THE 7 OFFICIAL AVERAGE POVERTY THRESHOLD
2 3 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

WHEREAS, the State has the responsibility to uplift the standard of living and quality of life of the poor and provde them with sustained opportunities for growth and development WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 121 mandates the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) to "promote and maintain an efficient statistical system in the government" and "develop, prescribe and maintain appropriate framework for the improvement of statistical coordination"; WHEREAS, the NSCB recently released official poverty figures based on adjustments on the recently-approved poverty estimation methodology. The NSCB announced that the 2009 incidence of poor families is 20.9 percent, while the old methodology would have put the incidence of poor families at 26.3 percent; WHEREAS, based on the revised methodology in estimating poverty incidence in Philippines, the NSCB pegs the official poverty threshold, or the amount supposedly necessary for a tolerable standard of living, at just 46 pesos per person per day in 2009. This would mean that a Filipino on average needs only 46 pesos a day to meet all of his basic needs, which include food education, clothing and footwear, medical care, transportation and

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

communication, fuel, light and water, housing, housing maintenance, furnishing, household operations, personal care and effects and rental. WHEREAS, the new poverty threshold of 46 pesos per person per day is 6 pesos lower than the previous poverty threshold of 52 pesos per person per day using the old methodology. This places the number of poor Filipinos in 2009 to just 23.1 million. If the old methodology is to be used, the number of poor in the same year should have been 28.5 million. As such, the new methodology effectively decreases the number of poor Filipinos by 5.3 million without really improving the poverty situation; WHEREAS, the old methodology estimate is already a low estimate because it assumes that a Filipino needs just 52 pesos per day when in fact, prices of basic commodities and services continue to soar while wages remain stagnant; WHEREAS, the new method supposedly estimates a food bundle since some three-fifths of the income of the poorest half of the population is spent just on food. However, the estimates are based on a "least cost" food bundle, which, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation, may not be available to most Filipinos. This bundle, the group adds, als8 relies on "revealed preference" which seems to mean that it reflected actual spending, but may be a pattern of spending not so much by choice but rather forced on Filipinos who adjust their spending according to their poverty; WHEREAS, the government will only be generating poverty estimates acording to the old and new methodologies for just three years, making poverty estimates over time even more incomparable aside from giving the impression that poverty has been markedly decreasing, states IBON. Furthermore, according to Social Weather Stations President Mahar Mangahas, the NSCB should develop a means of tracking poverty annually, if not more often. WHEREAS, while adjustments, refinements and improvements to scientific methodologies are indeed in order, the new methodology seem to be detached from the everyday realities that confront the vast number of Filipino poor today; WHEREAS, the need to develop a poverty measurement methodology that is responsive and reflective of the real situation of poor Filipinos is important especially since official poverty statistics play a key role in crafting and implementing poverty alleviation programs;

34
35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

43 44
45 46

47
48 49 50

51
52 53 54 55 56

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74

WHEREAS, any change or adjustment in such benchmarks in order to combat poverty will only be unsubstantial and irrelevant if the structural roots of poverty remain unaddressed and relegated to the sidelines.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED,

that the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation conduct an inquiry on the revised poverty measurement scheme approved by the National Statistical Coordination Board which substantially lowers the official average poverty threshold from 52 pesos per person per day to 46 pesos per person per day with a view to devise an official poverty estimation methodology that is truly reflective of the situation of the millions of poor Filipinos today.
Adopted,

RA

. PALATINO

Reprentative, Kabataan Party-list