High standard of living affects DavNor’s poverty statistics- PSA

DAVAO DEL NORTE (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) have recorded a high standard of living in the province of Davao del Norte which impacts the poverty statistical figures of the province.

Davao del Norte ranked among the 40 poorest provinces based on the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) results, but Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) XI Regional Director Ruben D. Abaro primarily attributed this to the “significant increase of P3,583.00 in Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold from 2012 to 2015.”

The FIES figures of PSA’s report on 2015 Poverty Statistics of the Philippines show that the province had been taking an uptrend in its the Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold from 2006 to 2015. In 2006 its poverty threshold was pegged at P13,214; 2009 at P16,863; 2012 at P20,841; 2015 at P24,424.

The 2015 FIES figures also show that Davao del Norte had the highest Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold among the provinces in Davao Region and in Mindanao.

Per PSA definition, Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold means “the minimum income/expenditure required for a family/ individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements” in a year.

According to the PSA basic non-food requirements involves expenditures for “clothing and footwear, housing; fuel, light, water; maintenance and minor repairs; rental of occupied dwelling units; medical care; education; transportation and communication; non-durable furnishings; household operations; and personal care & effects”.

In his explanation to Provincial Planning and Development Officer (PPDO) Nelson Plata, Abaro cited Davao del Norte’s considerable hike in Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold in 2015 as an indication that “the cost of living in Davao del Norte is higher compared to other provinces”.

Cost of living basic definition says that “it is the average amount of money that people in a particular place need, to buy the basic food and food non food” requirements.

Davao del Norte Provincial Governor Anthony G. del Rosario tasked Plata to check with PSA the veracity of a National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) report highlighting Davao del Norte among the 40 poorest provinces, using the PSA report on 2015 Poverty Statistics of the Philippines.

In his report to Del Rosario dated March 14, Plata relayed the analysis of Abaro citing the underlying “possible reasons” why Davao del Norte ranked among the 40 poorest provinces based on the 2015 FIES survey which, according to Abaro, had taken only 400 respondents out of more than one million population of the province in 2015.

Abaro further explained that the high poverty threshold of Davao del Norte also “indicates that people in the province preferred to eat food that is more costly compared with the food that is being sold or eaten by the people in other provinces.”

Abaro attributed such consumer behavior to “presence of fast-food chains, restaurants, hotels, malls and other establish- ments in the urban areas.”

Meanwhile, using PSA’s statistical data, the Socio-Economic Profile of Davao del Norte says that the province “offers better income opportunities for low income population” as measured by their daily income despite the high cost of living.

Drawing from the 2015 Annual Capita Poverty Threshold, the SocioEconomic Profile says that people in Davao del Norte have an average daily income of P339, the highest among the four provinces in Davao Region. Davao del Sur posted a daily income estimate of P303.00; Davao Oriental, P308.00; and Compostela Valley, P316.

In a radio guesting Governor Del Rosario interpreted this data to mean that “our economy has grown faster than any other province in Mindanao.”

“The fact that Davao del Norte has the highest poverty threshold, meaning our economy has grown, definitely,” he said as he recalled various development initiatives of previous provincial governors and District Representatives of the province.

Meanwhile, Abaro also took note of the “preciseness” of Davao del Norte’s 2015 poverty estimates with coefficient variation pegged at 24.8 percent as indicated in PSA’s 2015 Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippines.

“The lower the value of coefficient variation, the more precise the estimate is,” Abaro said.

On the other hand, he positively noted the downward trend in number of poor families in Davao del Norte.

Based on the 2015 FIES Report, the magnitude of poor families in the province was reduced from 60,652 in 2012 to 52,665 in 2015, “despite the high poverty threshold and inflation in 2015.”

“This means that the Provincial Government is still doing well in addressing or providing the basic needs of the populace,” he said. (PIA XI/Jeanevie Abangan)