ILOILO City — A cause-oriented group has challenged the government’s claim that a family of five in Western Visayas earning P13,900 a month is no longer poor, arguing that the official poverty threshold grossly understates the actual cost of living and risks excluding struggling families from much-needed government assistance.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Panay on Wednesday disputed the National Anti-Poverty Commission’s (NAPC) use of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) poverty threshold, insisting that a household in the region would need at least P22,595.05 a month just to cover basic food, water, electricity, cooking fuel, transportation, and essential household and personal care expenses.
The group’s statement came a day after NAPC Secretary Lope B. Santos III announced that poverty incidence in Western Visayas had fallen to 13.7 percent in 2023, lower than both the national average of 15.5 percent and the region’s pre-pandemic level, which he attributed to economic recovery and improved employment opportunities.
BAYAN Panay argued that exceeding the government’s statistical poverty threshold does not necessarily mean families can meet their daily needs.
“The issue is not merely how poverty is measured on paper, but whether Filipino families can genuinely afford adequate food, safe shelter, essential utilities, transportation, healthcare, education, and other necessities without constantly sacrificing basic needs or falling into debt,” the group said.
BAYAN Panay secretary-general Elmer Forro said their estimate allocates about P13,685 for food alone, P3,430.05 for utilities, P4,680 for transportation, and P800 for essential household and personal care items.
He stressed that the estimate remains conservative because it excludes housing or rent, education, healthcare, medicines, communication expenses, clothing, childcare, emergencies, savings, and debt payments.
“More importantly, this estimate is deliberately conservative and remains incomplete. It does not include housing or rent, education expenses such as tuition and school supplies, healthcare costs including medicines and hospitalization, communication expenses like mobile load and internet, clothing and footwear, childcare, emergency expenses, savings, debt payments, and many other unavoidable household expenditures,” said Forro.
Forro noted that even without those expenses, the estimated monthly cost of basic necessities is already P8,695.05 higher than the government’s poverty threshold.
“This raises a fundamental question: Can a family truly be considered ‘not poor’ simply because its income exceeds an official statistical threshold that is significantly lower than the actual cost of basic living?” he asked.
BAYAN Panay also warned that poverty statistics influence government budgets and social protection programs, making it crucial that they accurately reflect the conditions faced by ordinary Filipinos.
“Official statistics are not merely numbers — they shape public policy, budgets, and social protection programs. When the government’s measure of poverty fails to reflect people’s lived realities, its response to poverty is bound to be inadequate, leaving millions of Filipino families excluded from the support they urgently need,” Forro said.
The group called on the government to adopt a more realistic poverty measure, strengthen price controls, reduce regressive taxes on essential goods and services, and implement a P1,200 daily family living wage.
For his part, Santos maintained that Western Visayas has not only recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic but has also surpassed its pre-pandemic poverty performance.
“Dito sa Region 6, more than 14% of poverty incidence pre-pandemic. Umangat noong pandemic in 2021. Bumalik tayo ng 13.7% in 2023, below the prepandemic incidence, which means naka-recover na tayo at mas nag-improve ang economy dito sa region. At nagkaroon ng mga trabaho ang ating mga kababayan, at mas maunlad na trabaho. Ito ‘yung mga drivers ng pagbaba ng poverty incidence,” Santos said.
NAPC data showed poverty incidence in 2023 stood at 4.6 percent in Aklan, 18.9 percent in Antique, 13.4 percent in Capiz, 6.5 percent in Guimaras, and 15.2 percent in Iloilo Province./PN
