one big file - Social Watch

Missing Targets: An alternative MDG midterm report
etary approach (and employing the poverty line based on
income) is the underlying framework of government. If
we were to apply other conceptual approaches to poverty
such as the Capability Approach 9 and therefore focus on
other indicators such as health, nutrition, education (in
particular, elementary and secondary education), access
to basic amenities (such as safe water and sanitary toilet
facilities), shelter, peace and order, and employment, then
the poverty picture would tell a different story. In many
of these areas, the Social Watch-Philippines midterm review
of the status of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) will show a general decline in performance
across indicators that highlight deteriorating quality of
lives for most Filipinos.
The big picture: Enduring feature
of high inequality
A highly unequal distribution of income is one of
the enduring features of the Philippine development
landscape.
According to the 2006 FIES, the Gini co-efficient
declined very slightly, at 0. 4605 in 2003, to 0.4564 in
2003 as underscored by a narrowing in family income
between the families belonging to the tenth decile,
and that of the first decile (the total family income of
the tenth decile was 20 times that of the first decile in
2003, and fell to 19 times in 2006). 10
On a historical note, it will be noted that income
distributions in 1985, 2000 and 2003 (see Tables 1, 2 and
3), has generally stagnated and that there is not much variability
in the middle strata of the distribution chart. 11
Figure 2 shows that there is more inequality in
income distribution in the country today than there
was in 1985; while the rate of inequality reached its
peak in 1997.
Generally, the trend in inequality across decades is
marked by stagnation or what others euphemistically
refer to as “fairly stable”. In real terms, this means that
historically, growth has not been propoor as the highly
iniquitous income structure in the Philippines largely
remains unaltered. It is worth noting that the Philippines
has the 3rd highest Gini Coefficient in Asia, next
only to Nepal and the People’s Republic of China. 12
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
The high growth rates currently reported in the
media, juxtaposed with a high incidence of inequality,
as well as higher levels of self-rated hunger, can be
indicative of a reality where the poor have generally
been bypassed by growth and that the growth is not
broad-based. Such a situation can help explain the
continuing and palpable social and political unrest in
Philippine society.
This ties in with the structure of ownership and
control in the country’s corporate sector based on a study
9
The Capabilities Approach, pioneered by Amartya Sen, views development as the expansion of human capabilities and rejects monetary income as a measure of
well-being.
10
2006 Family Income and Expenditures Survey Final Results
11
Africa, Tom, The Povertied (Poor) Filipinos, powerpoint presentation, Conversation on Poverty Forum, sponsored by La Liga Policy Institute, April 26, 2006.
12
Asian Development Bank. Key Indicators 2007: Annual Statistical Publication
S O C I A L W A T C H P H I L I P P I N E S 17