RP poverty levels improve, Muslims make progress

[eelssej_]

---

RP poverty levels improve, Muslims make progress

Extreme poverty levels in the Philippines have declined slightly to about 30 percent of the population, with minority Muslims improving their lot significantly, the government said Wednesday.

"In terms of population, 30 out of 100 Filipinos in 2003 had income short of the minimum cost of satisfying the basic requirements, an improvement from 2000 [when] 33 out of 100 Filipinos [were] ... below the poverty threshold," the National Statistical Coordination Board said.

That improvement took 1.6 million Filipinos out of poverty.

The government agency puts the per capita poverty threshold at P35.93 (68 US cents) a day in income, enough to buy about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of rice, the staple cereal.

The World Bank estimates that 40 percent of Filipinos live on two dollars a day or less.

Three predominantly Muslim provinces in the south -- Sulu, Lanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi -- hauled themselves off the 2000 list of the 10 poorest, with double-digit declines in the incidence of poverty, the government agency said in a statement.

These areas, which form part of a Muslim self-rule area called the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, have benefited from large-scale government and international aid since the signing of a peace treaty between Manila and separatist rebels in 1996.

The government is observing a three year-old cease-fire with another Muslim separatist group in the area and hopes to sign a wider political settlement later this year.

However, the government survey also found that six other provinces in the south, many of them with substantial Muslim populations, are now among the 10 poorest provinces in the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines. AFP

News from ABS-CBNnews.com http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topoftheh...?StoryId=41010

..................................

For me, I can't see any improvement... but I am still optimistic about it...

Hardwork lang dyud...

[samsungster]

good news...

[tigerlily]

maybe we cant see the difference now kay hinay2x paman ang progress. ana man jud na - slow and steady. padayon lang jud ta :mrgreen:

[baron]

It took 1.6 million Filipinos out of poverty.

This is good news.

As much as we want to alleviate the level of poverty to the lives of Filipino, now it is working its way to progress. Now, we're reaping the results of the pro-poor programs that the government is implementing. Hopefully, we'll get to have more Filipinos out of poverty in the next years.

[lalakingbisdak]

This is good news but also too good to be true hehe

[eelssej_]

i recognize the presence of gawad kalinga... this community program is trying to rebuild our nation by giving people, the poor people, the hope of a quality life they deserve...

"The poor in the countryside will no longer suffer as the landless will now gain land, the homeless will now be owning their own houses and the hungry will have food to eat because of the food sufficiency programs that are incorporated into each community. " http://www.gawadkalinga.org/

[baron]

^ The private sector has contributed as well, I believe. There is enhanced awareness that we should help each other in order to create a better environment. Gawad Kalinga and the likes really have for their own mission the priority to help the poor.
With the pro-poor programs that the government has lined up, the report, I can say, is not just to good to be true, but rather a realistic one. We need to cooperate further in order to achieve our goal of a better Philippines.

I just have to disagree with the senators the way they blatantly slash the pro poor programs in their deliberation of the national budget. Such attempt will only cause them a bad image as these pro-poor programs really need implementation all for the sake of the poor. If they will slash such programs, how can the government step up their drive on anti- poverty campaigns?

[wanderlust]

I agree. Capital expenditures, especially those for infrastructure, should be increased rather than decreased, as Congress has done. Infrastructure spending is essential to a developing economy. Our infrastructure is poor enough as it is, and cutting its budget doesn't help.

[grabehbebe]

Noli cites RP gains from antipoverty program

VP De Castro there has been progress in improving the lives of the Pinoys.

Addressing the 3rd session of the World Urban Forum organized by the United Nations Human Settlements Program or UN-Habitat in Vancouver, Canada, De Castro said the Philippine government will continue to give priority to addressing the urban poverty.

When asked whether the conditions of the urban poor have changed in the last 16 years, De Castro said they have been “mixed.� “There is much more to be done to address urban poverty in the Philippines. There are many more pockets of urban blight and poverty that government has yet to address.�

De Castro, however, pointed out that “Perhaps the most dramatic symbol is our successful transformation of the erstwhile icon of urban poverty in the Philippines—Smokey Mountain—into a commercial and residential center.�

He also revealed that while incidences of poverty have gone down from 44.2 percent in 1985 to 30.4 percent in 2003, the absolute number of poor families continues to rise due to population growth, migration to urban centers, and limited resources to provide for the needs of the poor.

De Castro said that the government remains “committed to wage a relentless battle against poverty in our cities and urban areas.�


http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?...04_june21_2006

[grabehbebe]

P600b set aside to fight poverty, as well


PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the release of P600 billion for the government’s “left-hand� campaign against communist rebels next year to help end the communist insurgency.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the Department of Budget and Management would earmark the money as part of the government’s antipoverty funds to create socioeconomic projects. Those projects would be implemented along with the government’s anti-insurgency drive.

“Please don’t get the impression that this is an all-military affair. Our defense officials themselves have stressed time and again that they can’t do it alone. The approach will be comprehensive,� Andaya said.
The left-hand approach includes the delivery of basic services and jobs in areas where the New People’s Army is operating.

“The government’s program for durable peace to rein in troubled areas will rely heavily on the delivery of infrastructure and social services,� Andaya said.

Full story at:http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/p...02_june26_2006