Cartoon By: Aaron Paul C. Caril
P21 per meal?
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), you are not food-poor if you can spend at least P21 per meal.
Our good legislators in Congress vehemently disagree. NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan came under fire when he told the Senate that 1.71 million more Filipinos were no longer considered food-poor. When asked who is considered food-poor, he cited PSA’s food poverty threshold of P21 per meal.
Senator Grace Poe quickly interjected that the threshold is an old number that is not workable anymore, making the poverty forecast untrue. Senator Nancy Binay noted that it’s good to see that the poverty incidence has decreased, but on the ground, the numbers do not match what Filipinos need to live decently, properly, and well.
The PSA clarified that the threshold is designed by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute and consists of the cheapest food in an area that can provide 100% of the energy and protein that the average person needs, along with 80% of other nutrients.
The P21 per meal is a national average comprising cheaper food prices in certain provinces. The food threshold for a family of five living in NCR is slightly higher at P10,972 or P24 per meal.
The amount per meal is the bare minimum that a person needs, which includes the least cost for the ingredients and the gas used in cooking.
In a Discussion Paper published by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) entitled Estimation of the Food Poverty Line by Jose Ramon Albert and Wilma Molano, the researchers admit that there are a number of challenges regarding measuring and monitoring poverty. Poverty is multidimensional and manifests in different ways.
Adding to the complication are Filipinos’ different lifestyles, which may be influenced or dictated by the different geographical locations and economic conditions across regions.
Our legislators, policymakers, and information providers must agree on who among the Filipinos needs government help. To do this, they must clearly understand the available statistical information and use it in data-driven decision-making. More importantly, government intervention and social protection measures must be provided to the deserving without the color of politics.