This article examines the complex issue of poverty in Mindanao, Philippines, comparing self-reported figures with official statistics. It highlights the challenges faced by the region, including high rates of poverty and hunger, and analyzes the factors contributing to these issues. The article also discusses the role of government policies and the need for effective solutions to address poverty in Mindanao.
Much has been said and written about the state of development in Mindanao recently. I will not delve into the 'Sub-Saharan' debate, but I examined recent figures that shed light on poverty in the Philippines in general, and Mindanao in particular. According to the Social Weather Stations (SWS), self-rated poverty reached a staggering 63 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, the highest recorded since 2003. This translates to approximately 17.
4 million Filipino families who consider themselves poor. This self-rated poverty was most pronounced in Mindanao at 76 percent, though notably, the Visayas was not far behind at 74 percent. The extent of poverty in Mindanao is also reflected in 30.3 percent of families having experienced hunger at least once in the last quarter of 2024. The same SWS survey indicated that the hunger rate for the entire country was 25.9 percent, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic, when hunger affected 30.7 percent of Filipino families.As for the most recent official statistics on poverty from the Philippine Statistics Authority, not a single one of Mindanao's six administrative regions had poverty incidences among the population below the national average of 15.5 percent (2023 full year). The Davao region came close with 16 percent. On a national scale, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the Zamboanga Peninsula had the highest and second highest poverty incidences, respectively. Negros Island Region was third, with Bicol on the fourth spot. BARMM, incidentally, reduced poverty incidence from 60.4 percent in 2018 to 35.4 percent and 32.4 percent in 2021 and 2023, respectively. This is the primary reason why the total number of poor individuals in Mindanao dropped from almost 8 million in 2018 to 6.78 million five years later. In 2018, Mindanao's poor population accounted for 45 percent of the total number of poor Filipinos. In 2023, this share was down to 38 percent.For comparison, Mindanao's population constituted 24.1 percent of the Philippines' total population in 2020 (2020 Census). The shares of the Visayas and Luzon were 18.9 percent and 57 percent, respectively. The Visayas' 4.5 million poor made up 25.9 percent of the total poor. The eight administrative regions falling under Luzon (which include island provinces such as Palawan) had fewer poor people in absolute numbers than Mindanao, despite a total population more than double that of Mindanao's. There are significant differences within regions. Poor regions have pockets of relative affluence. Usually, highly urbanized cities have much lower poverty incidences compared to rural areas. In the Mindanao context, General Santos City had the lowest official poverty incidence with 8.2 percent. The province of Zamboanga del Norte had the highest at 47.6 percent. Surigao del Norte's 10 percent poverty incidence was among the lowest outside Luzon island — only Aklan, Guimaras, and Siquijor did better. Farmers and fisherfolk are consistently ranked as the poorest of the poor sectors; 61.5 percent of 831,000 households with fishing operators are in the Visayas and Mindanao compared to these regions' 43 percent total share of the population (2022 statistics on capture fisheries; 2020 census). Speaking of fishing, capture fisheries production in Mindanao hasn't suffered the steep decline that we see in Luzon and the Visayas. There have been substantial fluctuations over the past two decades, but the overall trend is a slight increase.Of course, Mindanao's fish stock is not what Vibranium is to Wakanda. There is no magic treasure that will bring meaningful progress to any part of the Philippines. Instead, we need to do better with what we have: taxpayers' money, natural resources, and, especially, people. Most of the ills plaguing Philippine society are decades old and passed on like a baton from one administration to the next. The national government alone is not to blame for this. After all, billions of pesos flow to all levels of government. The Local Government Code empowers local government units to set their own priorities. But then, look at the generous — often unprogrammed — bonuses given to government employees every Christmas and, for LGUs, on charter days and founding anniversaries. Local chief executives push for multi-billion government centers even if these are unlikely to improve services in any profound way. Hospitals and other structures remain unfinished years after groundbreaking and despite the millions of pesos poured into their construction. The country is littered with substandard roads, bridges, flyovers, flood control systems, and more. Worse, the World Bank has again reminded the government that much work needs to be done to improve education and health (Business World, March 11, 2025)
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