Consumers Domain
Poverty line
"I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone"
--From "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day
A recent article in a major national daily caught my attention. I am sure many of you who were able to read that piece have something to say on the information stated in it.
"A family of five in Metro Manila needs to earn at least P8,061 a month to meet its most basic needs, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board." This was highlighted by the news report.
P8,061 a month! Now, that is Metro Manila. We know that in the provinces it is even lower as the cost of living in Metro Manila is higher than in any other area.
"The cost of maintaining an economically decent lifestyle is highest in Metro Manila, where the poverty threshold for this year is 30 percent higher than the national average of P6,195 a month or P204 a day." This the report further said.
According to our government, on the average a family of five can survive decently with a monthly income of P6,195!
Hmmm. Yup I can hear many of you say: "Sa pagkaon pa lang, kulang na na!" (For food alone, that is not enough!), or "Sa pambayad pa lang sang renta sang balay, kuryente, tubig, kag pamplete, halos ubos na ina (That amount is almost gone after payments for house rent, electricity, water and transportation fare.)"
Further according to the NCSB, here are the poverty threshold per capita (per person, per day) in the areas in Provinces in the Visayas area: Guimaras P43.73, Negros Occidental P40.48, Aklan P39.59, Iloilo P39.33, Capiz P37.00, Cebu P35.66, Antique P35.59. For NCR, it is P53.00.
It means that here in Iloilo we only need P39.33 a day to live out of poverty. Take note that that amount does not only cover food. That amount should include allocation for house rent, utilities, fare, clothing, health and for other emergencies.
I don't actually need to write an article to highlight how the government manipulates these data to hide the real crisis. I know that everyone knows the actual situation and how the burden is getting heavier by the day.
No wonder the government cannot solve the poverty issue as well as other problems. It cannot even gather accurate information that would tell the actual story of poverty in the country. Indeed, how could you solve a problem without recognizing the problem itself?
(Send your comments and reactions to: for text messages to 0919-348-6337; for e-mails to ianseruelo@yahoo.com; and for blogs to http://consumersdomain.blogspot.com.)