Cotabato City—Poverty incidence in provinces now covered by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao remains high with 61 percent of the population unable to earn enough for food and non-food needs in 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
In 2018, 61.3 percent of Filipinos in ARMM had per capita income insufficient to meet basic food and non-food needs, said PSA BARMM Director Razulden Mangelen.
The figures are drawn from latest PSA national charts, released here on Feb. 18 by its BARMM regional office.
Mangelen said this translates to 2.5 million Filipinos in the region living below the poverty threshold pegged at P11,482.00 on average for a family of five per month in 2018.
In terms of subsistence incidence, the region has improved at 29.6 percent (relative or in proportion to monthly food threshold) of regional population unable to sufficiently earn for foods and non-foods needs in 2018.
Subsistence Incidence is officially defined as the proportion of families or individuals with per capita income less than the per capita Poverty Threshold to the total number of families or individuals.
The region’s recorded monthly food threshold for a family of five members has been pegged, on the average, at P8,102.00.
Poverty Threshold is defined as the minimum income required for a family or individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements. It is also known as the Poverty Line.
PSA BARMM said in proportion to monthly food threshold, poor families in ARMM made up 53.6 percent of its population, or equivalent to 352,300 families.
Meanwhile, 147,700 or 22.8 percent of BARMM’s population did not have enough food for fair subsistence incidence in 2018, the agency said.
In Tawi-Tawi, only 14.7 percent or 10,200 residents had not earned enough of at least P8,822 in average monthly income to meet basic food and non-food needs.
Basilan has posted 65.7 percent poverty threshold or about 41,600 families (with five members each) among its residents were unable to earn PHP 11,141 in average monthly income to meet basic food and non-food needs.
The region’s figures also rebound in Maguindanao with only 39.9 percent or 83,100 families not being able to earn PHP 10,465 on average monthly income to meet basic food and non-food needs, according to the PSA.
Again, PSA charts 64.1 percent poverty threshold in Lanao del Sur which means, 108,900 Filipino families there with five members each were unable to earn PHP 12,165 in average monthly income to meet basic food and non-food needs.
Sulu pegs a poverty threshold at 74.3 percent for a PHP 12,042 in average family monthly income to meet basic food and non-food needs. This means 74.3 percent or 108,600 of Filipino families there were poor in 2018, the PSA said.
