Addressing the Chronic and Transient Natures of Philippine Poverty
By Byron Bicenio & Rommel Asuncion
This report discusses the highlights of the knowledge sharing forum entitled “Dynamics of Chronic and Transient Poverty” which was co-organized by the CPBRD and PIDS. In the discussion, it was shown that looking into the dynamics of poverty in the Philippines is as important as monitoring changes in overall poverty incidence over time. Based on the presentation of Dr. Celia Reyes of PIDS, it was indicated that more than half of the poor in 2009 are of the type that moves in and out of poverty. Legislators are concerned that these may have serious implications on the anti-poverty programs of government. In this case, there were calls to adopt structural reforms and long-time interventions to address chronic poverty.
A Note on the 2011 Refinements of the Philippine Poverty Statistics Methodology
By Rommel Asuncion
This article discusses that refinements recently made on the country’s methodology in estimating poverty incidence to address some technical issues on the estimation of the food threshold, poverty threshold, incidence and other measures of poverty. The relevance of official poverty statistics and the comparability of poverty estimates across space and over time, to evidence-based policymaking cannot be overemphasized.
Overall, the poverty estimates based on the new methodology remained consistent in terms of trend with those of the estimates using the old methodology. However, in terms of levels, estimates based on the old methodology were generally higher compared to those generated from the refined methodology. This has drawn the attention of policymakers and various stakeholders who criticized the new system that it effectively reduces the number of poor without really improving the poverty situation.
