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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
KEEPING one’s family from
sliding into poverty became costlier last year due to higher
consumer prices and an increase in the sales tax, according to the
National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB).
Romulo A. Virola, NSCB
secretary-general, said the country’s monthly poverty threshold
stood at P6,211 last year, up from P5,853 the previous year.
This means that Filipino families
of five should have earned P204 daily to sustain their minimum basic
food and nonfood needs.
The NSCB explained that the
threshold was based on the prevailing prices in 2006. Data from the
National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the inflation rate rose
6.2 percent.
The government also last year
raised the value-added tax (VAT) rate by 20 percent in a move aimed
at generating more revenues and trimming its budget deficit.
In Metro Manila, families of five
should have earned a monthly income of P8,254, of which P4,920, or
60 percent, should have been allocated for basic food needs and
P3,334 for basic nonfood needs.
In rural areas, the poverty
threshold stood at P5,885 last year from P5,540 in 2005.
Among provinces, excluding the
four districts of the National Capital Region (NCR), the annual
per-capita poverty threshold was highest in Batangas with P18,404
followed by Cavite, P 17,876 and Abra, P17,682.
The poverty threshold was lowest
in Siquijor at P 12,016, Negros Oriental, P12,120; and Zamboanga
Sibugay, P12,153. Of the 10 provinces with the lowest annual
per-capita poverty thresholds, two were in Luzon, five in the
Visayas, and three in the Mindanao areas.
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