Palace: Typhoons may have caused 2-point increase in Q4 self-rated poverty
January 16, 2017 | 4:33pm
Filipinos scavenges for recyclable materials from the trash that was washed ashore by strong waves brought about by Typhoon Lawin (international name: Haima) in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. Several people were killed after Super Typhoon Haima smashed into the northern Philippines with ferocious wind and rains overnight, flooding towns and forcing thousands to flee then weakening Thursday after slamming into a mountain range and blowing into the South China Sea, officials said.
AP / Aaron Favila, File
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang attributed the two-point increase in self-rated poverty in Q4 last year to the typhoons that battered parts of Luzon.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Typhoon Karen damaged thousands of hectares of agricultural lands in Ilocos, Cordillera and Central Luzon regions. Typhoon Lawin also destroyed houses and crops and displaced thousands of people in northern Luzon, he added.
“We take note the survey finding that self-rated poverty rose in Balance Luzon. We thus factor in stronger-than-usual typhoons that hit Luzon towards the latter part of the year which may have affected the perception of our respondents,” Andanar said in a statement.
Andanar said the Agriculture department has been assisting farmers who were affected by the two typhoons last year.
In the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, self-rated poverty rose to 42 percent in Balance Luzon in Q4 last year from 34 percent in Q3. Elsewhere the numbers either stayed the same or went down: 31 percent in Metro Manila in Q4 down from 36 percent in Q3; 56 percent in Visayas for both Q3 and Q4; and 47 percent in Q4 down 49 percent in Q3.
The annual average of Filipinos who consider themselves poor, however, hit the lowest in 29 years with 44 percent or an estimated 10 million families, SWS added. The annual average in 2015 was at 50 percent.
The poll was conducted from Dec. 3 to 6, 2016 and first published on BusinessWorld on Monday. — Alexis Romero
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