Economic and Social Dimensions of Rural Poverty in
the Poorest Province of the Philippines
Bernadette Gavino-Gumba, Ateneo de Naga University, Philippines
Abstract: This study analyzed rural poverty in Masbate, the poorest of the eighty provinces in the
Philippines. It determined the correlation between economic and socio-political indicators of poverty
in 21 communities. It discovered positive and negative correlations between economic and sociopolitical indicators in four clusters of deprivation – physical weakness, isolation, vulnerability and
powerlessness – based on the Deprivation Trap Theory of Robert Chambers (Swanepoel, 2003). Under
physical weakness, income indicator was positively associated with malnutrition, infant mortality and
maternal mortality rates, proportion of households without access to potable water and proportion of
households without access to sanitary toilets. Under isolation, poverty incidence had negative relation
with school participation and cohort survival rates; and positive correlation with dropout rate and
distance from the commercial center. Under vulnerability, economic indicator was positively associated
with proportion of households with makeshift housing and negatively related with proportion of
households with house owned/ amortized, proportion of households with lot owned/ amortized, proportion of households with strong wall materials, proportion of households with strong roof materials
and proportion of households with at least one household convenience. Under powerlessness, poverty
incidence had negative correlation with number of non-government organizations, number of cooperatives, estimated internal revenue allotment per capita and income class, number of crimes against
person and property. Policy recommendations hereby forwarded are consolidated to respond to the
five clusters of Chambers’ Deprivation Trap.
Keywords: Rural Poverty, Economic Indicator, Social Indicators
Introduction
T
HIS STUDY ANALYZED the rural poverty phenomenon in Masbate, one of the
poorest of the eighty provinces in the Philippines, with poverty incidence of 51.0%
in 2006. The province has been in the list of top ten poorest in the country since
1997, ranking first in 2000, third in 2003, and eighth in 2006. Seven of the ten poorest
in 2000 were able to cast off their “poorest” tags in 2003, majority registering double-digit
declines in their poverty incidences. On the other hand, Masbate and two others remained
in the list, with Masbate as the only province which had consistently been in the ten poorest
since 1997 (National Statistical Coordination Board, 2008).
The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Volume 5, Number 6, 2010, http://www.SocialSciences-Journal.com, ISSN 1833-1882
© Common Ground, Bernadette Gavino-Gumba, All Rights Reserved, Permissions:
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL SCIENCES
Table 1: Ten Poorest Provinces in the Philippines, 2003 and 2006
Province
Poverty in- Rank Rank
cidence
2006 2003
(%)
Province
Poverty in- Rank Rank
cidence
2006 2003
(%)
Tawi-tawi
78.9
1
31
Lanao del Sur 52.5
6
25
Zamboanga del 63.0
Norte
2
1
Northern
Samar
52.2
7
38
Maguindanao
62.0
3
2
Masbate
51.0
8
3
Apayao
57.5
4
69
Abra
50.1
9
19
Surigao del
Norte
53.2
5
4
Misamis Occi- 48.8
dental
10
7
National Statistical Coordination Board, 2008
Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to analyze rural poverty in Masbate from economic and socio-political
perspectives. Specifically, the study sought to answer the following:
•
•
•
What is the status of poverty and deprivation in the communities of Masbate in terms of
economic and socio-political indicators?
How does economic indicator relate to socio-political indicators of deprivation?
What policy recommendations can the study infer based on the poverty condition of the
communities of Masbate?
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this study is based on the Deprivation Trap Theory of Robert
Chambers (Swanepoel, 2003). According to Chambers, the poor is trapped in a cycle of
poverty called the deprivation trap, involving five clusters of disadvantage: (a) they are poor;
(b) physically weak; (c) isolated; (d) vulnerable; and (e) powerless.
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BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
Figure 1: The Deprivation Trap: Social and Economic Dimensions of Rural Poverty in the
Poorest Province of the Philippines
Poverty determines all the other clusters of disadvantage because it contributes to: (a)
physical weakness because of lack of food and poor health; (b) isolation because of the inability to pay for education; (c) vulnerability because of lack of assets and inability to meet
contingencies such as illness; and (d) powerlessness because of the low status that goes with
lack of wealth. Physical weakness contributes to poverty through inability to engage in income-generating activities and less opportunities for those who are physically weak. Isolation
is typically illustrated by a lack of proper education, remoteness and being out of contact
with the wider world. The isolation of the poor sustains their poverty because social services
do not reach those who are living in remote areas. Vulnerability relates to poverty through
the lack of assets for humane living and livelihood. Powerlessness contributes to poverty
through limiting or preventing access to resources, there is a lack of legal redress for abuses,
and enhances the weakness of the poor in the negotiations.
Research Methodology
The investigation employed written document analysis for the analysis of economic and
socio-political indicators, and key informant interview for the validation of data and measurements. The unit of analysis was the municipality. The community profiles were derived
from the National Statistical Coordination Board, Provincial Planning and Development
Office, Municipal Planning and Development Offices, Municipal Health Offices, Social
Welfare and Education Departments, Diocese of Masbate Social Action Foundation, and
Peace and Equity Foundation, Inc. The methods of data processing included frequency distribution tables, computation of percentage and correlation statistics.
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Table 2: Variables used for the Socio-political Indicators
Indicators of
Deprivation
Variables
Physical weakness
proportion of children severely and moderately malnourished
estimated infant mortality rate
estimated maternal mortality rate
proportion of households without access to potable water
proportion of households without access to sanitary toilet
Isolation
school participation rates in elementary and high school
dropout rates in elementary and high school
cohort survival rates in elementary and high school
over 10 illiteracy rate
distance from Masbate City
Vulnerability
proportion of households with strong outer wall materials
proportion of households with strong outer roof materials
proportion of households with makeshift housing
proportion of households with at least one household convenience
proportion of households with lot owned/amortized
proportion of households with house owned/amortized
proportion of households owning agricultural land
Powerlessness
number of cooperatives in the area
number of non-government organizations
estimated internal revenue allotment
income class
crimes against person
crimes against property
crimes against person and property
Economic and socio-political indicators were correlated using Pearson Product Moment
Correlation, as shown in the formula below, because the data are interval and nominal, and
are assumed to be independent from each other. The NSCB small area poverty incidence
estimates are the Y variables while the pre-identified socio-political factors were operated
as X variables.
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BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
The Pearson’s correlation is the most common measure of correlation which measures the
strength of the linear relationship between two variables or the tendency of the variables
to increase or decrease together. It ranges from +1.0, which means that there is a perfect
positive linear relationship, to -1.0, which means that there is perfect negative or inverse
relationship. The correlation between two variables reflects the degree to which the variables
are related. Since correlation tests are used to assess whether there is a relationship between
two or more variables, significant correlation does not necessarily determine causality.
Findings
Status of Poverty and Deprivation
Masbate is part of Bicol, one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Among the Bicol provinces,
Masbate has one of the lowest poverty thresholds but the highest poverty incidence both in
2003 and 2006.
Table 3: Poverty in Bicol, 2003 and 2006
Province
Poverty Threshold
(Pesos per Annum Per Individual)
Poverty Incidence
(% of Families)
2003
2006
2003
2006
Philippines
12,309
15,057
24.4
26.9
Bicol Region
12,379
15,015
40.6
41.8
Albay
12,915
16,128
34.4
37.8
Camarines Norte
12,727
14,854
46.1
38.4
Camarines Sur
11,873
14,634
40.1
41.2
Catanduanes
11,815
13,654
31.8
37.3
Masbate
12,504
14,248
55.9
51.0
Sorsogon
12,452
15,687
33.7
43.5
National Statistical Coordination Board, 2008
All towns in the separate islands of Burias and Ticao belong to the first district. The mainland
is divided into the second district and the third district. Each of the three political subdivisions
has a share of a number of municipalities which belong to the ten poorest in the province
and the region.
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Table 4: Island Classification and Political Subdivision in Masbate
Municipality
Island
District
Burias Island
First District
NSCB small area
poverty incidence estimates, 2005
1
Claveria
69.79
2
San Pascual
3
Batuan
4
Monreal
68.85
5
San Fernando
57.24
6
San Jacinto
57.31
7
Balud
8
Mandaon
63.32
9
Aroroy
67.60
10
Baleno
64.53
11
Milagros
65.73
12
Masbate City
41.18
13
Mobo
64.72
14
Uson
Third District 67.94
15
Cawayan
74.01
16
Palanas
63.17
17
Dimasalang
64.15
18
Placer
72.11
19
Cataingan
62.85
20
PV Corpus
60.99
21
Esperanza
69.05
75.52
Ticao Island
57.63
Masbate Island Second District 68.92
Peace and Equity Foundation (2007) and Provincial Government of Masbate (2007)
Poverty. The NSCB small area poverty incidence estimates reveal the portion of the household
population which does not have adequate income to purchase food and non-food needs in a
year. Based on the estimates, the top ten poorest in the province, arranged from poorest, are
San Pascual, Cawayan, Placer, Claveria, Esperanza, Balud, Monreal, Uson, Aroroy, and
Milagros.
Physical weakness. Most malnourished children are found in Baleno, followed by
Claveria, Placer, Esperanza and San Pascual. These are among the poorest in the province
except Baleno. On the other hand, Balud enlisted the least proportion of malnourished children, followed by Milagros, San Jacinto and Uson. Households of Balud, Milagros and Uson,
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BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
although they are in the poorest towns, benefit from effective feeding programs from the
government.
Table 5: Health conditions in the province of Masbate
Municipality
Proportion of chil- Estimated infant Estimated materdren severely and
mortality rate nal mortality rate
moderately malnour- (deaths per 100
(deaths per 100
ished (% of children births, PHO, 2005) births, PHO,
0-7 years, POPCOM,
2005)
1Q 2005)
1
Claveria
31.40
1.01
2.88
2
San Pascual
25.63
3.53
6.31
3
Batuan
15.87
0.76
0.00
4
Monreal
20.02
0.61
8.11
5
San Fernando
24.13
1.02
2.54
6
San Jacinto
14.06
2.65
0.00
7
Balud
13.39
2.02
2.13
8
Mandaon
20.52
0.61
0.00
9
Aroroy
24.62
0.99
4.16
10
Baleno
31.42
0.66
0.00
11
Milagros
14.01
0.17
4.15
12
Masbate City
22.91
0.34
0.42
13
Mobo
21.95
0.11
0.00
14
Uson
14.43
0.66
1.47
15
Cawayan
19.07
1.96
0.93
16
Palanas
15.48
0.82
0.00
17
Dimasalang
23.42
2.78
1.63
18
Placer
29.75
1.24
1.55
19
Cataingan
23.86
1.12
0.00
20
PV Corpus
20.83
0.00
0.00
21
Esperanza
28.73
0.26
0.00
MASBATE
PROVINCE
21.83
1.06
2.71
The estimated infant mortality rate is highest in San Pascual which is likewise poorest in the
province and region. It once more landed among the communities with the highest estimated
maternal mortality rate ranking second to Monreal followed by Aroroy and Milagros.
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Balud has the largest portion of population with no access to potable water, followed by
Cawayan, Placer, Cataingan and Uson. Conversely, Aroroy and Monreal, though among the
poorest, have better access to potable water than their wealthier counterparts. Cawayan has
considerable number of households with no access to sanitary toilets, followed by San Pascual, Placer and San Jacinto. Balud and Aroroy registered higher proportion of households
with access to sanitary toilets although they are among those with highest poverty incidence.
Table 6: Access to Potable Water and Sanitary Toilet of Households in Masbate
Municipality
Proportion of households Proportion of HHs
without access to potable without access to sanitwater (PHO, 2005, %) ary toilets (PHO, 2005,
%)
1
Claveria
32.51
66.48
2
San Pascual
49.61
78.67
3
Batuan
55.69
62.28
4
Monreal
18.46
52.19
5
San Fernando
38.55
61.21
6
San Jacinto
35.84
72.66
7
Balud
98.27
39.85
8
Mandaon
14.15
58.23
9
Aroroy
26.28
41.67
10
Baleno
43.23
39.32
11
Milagros
50.71
58.08
12
Masbate City
14.89
44.82
13
Mobo
17.80
50.68
14
Uson
61.88
62.78
15
Cawayan
90.55
78.78
16
Palanas
27.69
66.63
17
Dimasalang
47.04
61.33
18
Placer
86.92
75.78
19
Cataingan
63.66
63.66
20
PV Corpus
29.62
54.14
21
Esperanza
29.92
60.07
MASBATE PROVINCE
46.37
59.95
Isolation. Highest elementary participation rates were observed in San Fernando, Batuan
and Masbate City. Esperanza topped in school participation rate in elementary while Milagros
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topped in secondary education together with better off communities like Batuan, San Fernando
and Masbate City. Other poorest towns noted the lowest participation rates – Cawayan and
Claveria in elementary, Claveria and Uson in secondary. More students dropped out of elementary in Cataingan, Dimasalang, Claveria, Esperanza and Mandaon; and of high school
in Mobo, Aroroy, Placer, Baleno and Claveria. School-age children in Claveria seemed to
be most disinterested in schooling as proven by the town’s dwindling participation rates in
elementary and secondary education, coupled with high drop out rates in both levels.
Table 7: State of Education in the Province of Masbate
Municipality
Participation Rate
(%, DEPED, 2005)
Drop-out rate
(%, DEPED,
2005)
Cohort survival Illiterrate (%, DEPED, acy rate
2005)
(%,
NSO,
2000
Elementary
Secondary
Ele- Second- Element- Secondmentary
ary
ary
ary
1
Claveria
71.89
72.27
2.67
9.22
50.52
53.09
3.93
2
San Pascual
82.90
76.90
1.96
7.31
41.11
52.73
3.90
3
Batuan
98.82
84.34
2.10
4.28
60.36
60.71
9.11
4
Monreal
87.12
78.48
0.51
8.55
53.37
51.13
1.24
5
San Fernando
99.36
82.28
2.29
5.52
45.47
58.20
0.77
6
San Jacinto
88.35
77.57
0.31
5.60
66.95
72.19
0.74
7
Balud
89.60
75.17
1.57
7.77
76.91
73.14
3.79
8
Mandaon
81.18
75.31
2.62
5.73
41.09
66.29
2.80
9
Aroroy
91.23
78.21
1.38
12.36
54.75
50.79
3.07
10
Baleno
88.91
76.18
0.70
9.87
60.56
47.28
0.89
11
Milagros
90.57
81.44
2.46
8.67
49.65
59.94
3.27
12
Masbate City
95.16
81.71
0.55
5.16
63.00
76.76
1.90
13
Mobo
92.55
73.44
0.83
19.13
56.19
32.88
2.56
14
Uson
91.73
73.89
1.43
8.01
58.97
62.79
4.37
15
Cawayan
77.95
75.64
0.34
4.20
47.72
63.63
5.77
16
Palanas
94.96
70.58
1.41
5.42
50.69
75.63
5.70
17
Dimasalang
78.58
76.86
3.49
5.26
56.18
68.79
3.38
18
Placer
86.29
76.43
0.76
9.97
55.40
50.67
6.38
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19
Cataingan
84.89
79.04
3.51
6.41
47.52
55.05
5.90
20
PV Corpus
92.21
69.05
0.51
8.22
56.40
80.76
5.54
21
Esperanza
96.42
78.34
2.62
7.69
56.34
51.81
5.23
MASBATE
PROVINCE
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
3.64
The cohort survival rate in elementary was highest in Balud followed by San Jacinto, Masbate
City and Baleno. According to the Department of Education (2008), the presence of public
elementary schools in each barangay in Balud is probable reason why it has shown satisfactory
records in cohort survival rates. The highest cohort survival rates in high school were recorded
in Balud, PV Corpus, Masbate City and Palanas. Lowest secondary level cohort survival
rates were shared both by poorer municipalities like Placer and Aroroy, and relatively affluent
communities like Mobo and Baleno. Latest data from the Census on Housing and Population
show that illiteracy rate in Esperanza was among the highest in Masbate. The lowest illiteracy
rates were recorded in San Jacinto, San Fernando and Masbate City which are better-off
towns.
Figure 3 presents the relative distance of towns from Masbate City, the source of basic
needs and resources. Among the towns located in mainland Masbate, Esperanza and Placer
appear to be farthest from the city which may account for the areas’ poor access to basic
needs like food and clothing. Balud and San Pascual are likewise among those seven other
towns which are relatively farther away from the center of commerce.
Figure 3: A Matrix on Distance of Municipalities from Center
Philippine Coast Guard (2007) and Department of Public Works and Highways (2007)
Vulnerability. A larger number of households in the province’s capital has strong outer wall
materials, strong outer roof materials, at least one household convenience; and least number
of households with makeshift housing. Conversely, most households in poorest areas like
San Pascual, Balud and Cawayan are deprived of such housing resources. San Pascual ranked
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BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
last in the proportion of households with strong outer wall materials and proportion of
households with strong outer roof materials.
Table 8: Condition of Housing and Amenities of Households in Masbate.
Municipality
Proportion of Proportion of Proportion of Proportion of
HHs with
HHs with
HHs with
HHs with at
Strong Outer Strong Outer
Makeshift
Least one HH
Wall Materials Roof Materials Housing (%, Convenience
(%, NSO,
(%, NSO,
NSO, 2000)
(NSO, 2000)
2000)
2000)
1
Claveria
30.27
12.60
68.46
64.01
2
San Pascual
22.24
13.60
75.33
72.91
3
Batuan
66.94
9.29
32.46
83.08
4
Monreal
39.07
13.11
60.25
64.57
5
San Fernando
64.33
16.13
35.20
76.55
6
San Jacinto
56.55
15.57
42.27
74.79
7
Balud
31.64
24.91
64.81
71.55
8
Mandaon
27.54
20.64
69.93
71.01
9
Aroroy
45.06
29.01
52.11
69.81
10
Baleno
50.91
15.73
48.64
64.45
11
Milagros
40.79
20.27
58.18
63.98
12
Masbate City
68.63
51.70
28.16
76.08
13
Mobo
40.20
23.64
22.20
66.55
14
Uson
45.63
20.63
53.63
73.80
15
Cawayan
28.15
25.55
67.79
66.66
16
Palanas
40.54
21.53
57.85
68.66
17
Dimasalang
51.98
18.59
47.06
71.74
18
Placer
31.95
29.92
60.80
66.39
19
Cataingan
42.16
30.74
52.33
61.19
20
PV Corpus
46.28
33.40
42.80
62.19
21
Esperanza
44.44
34.05
50.34
73.00
MASBATE
PROVINCE
42.81
25.22
52.86
63.15
On the other hand, San Pascual was first in the list of largest proportion of households with
makeshift housing. Esperanza and Placer listed a relatively big percentage of households
with strong outer roof materials. An interview with personnel of Provincial Planning and
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Development Office revealed that Esperanza and Placer are located along the coastline facing
the open sea. Thus, households made sure that their housing materials are sturdy to protect
their families from natural calamities. Batuan had the biggest proportion of households with
at least one household convenience followed by San Fernando and Masbate City. This could
be due to the possibility that households here want to indulge themselves to some of the
small comforts of life. The municipalities with the largest proportion of households with lot
owned or amortized are Baleno, Palanas, San Jacinto and Balud. In contrast, households in
Esperanza, Placer, and Milagros cannot afford to buy their residential lots.
Table 9: Ownership of Lot, House, and Agricultural Land in the Province of Masbate.
Municipality
Proportion of HHs
Proportion of HHs
Proportion of
with Lot
with House
HHs Owning
Owned/Amortized (%, Owned/Amortized (%, Agricultural
NSO, 2000)
NSO, 2000)
Land (%, NSO,
2000)
1
Claveria
41.15
69.59
17.70
2
San Pascual
45.29
65.31
21.37
3
Batuan
38.79
48.68
19.02
4
Monreal
47.98
64.28
21.60
5
San Fernando
44.72
81.03
19.14
6
San Jacinto
60.58
79.37
29.99
7
Balud
52.44
80.78
17.92
8
Mandaon
48.36
71.60
25.17
9
Aroroy
43.77
73.70
20.17
10
Baleno
69.41
82.39
23.03
11
Milagros
37.50
77.58
11.26
12
Masbate City
40.64
71.10
11.78
13
Mobo
48.30
68.61
21.95
14
Uson
45.76
62.80
18.84
15
Cawayan
48.55
82.77
21.87
16
Palanas
61.78
81.83
43.73
17
Dimasalang
43.83
78.54
43.90
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18
Placer
32.41
63.81
20.91
19
Cataingan
50.48
76.86
29.24
20
PV Corpus
37.64
64.12
29.84
21
Esperanza
37.50
63.09
23.31
Masbate
Province
45.64
72.42
20.96
Cawayan led the rest having the largest proportion of households with house owned or
amortized, with Balud, Baleno and Palanas. Cawayan’s high poverty incidence may not be
an inconsistency because families in this place may still be unable to purchase all their dayto-day economic needs. Municipalities with smallest proportion of households owning their
houses included Esperanza, San Pascual, Batuan and Uson.
The largest proportion of households which owned agricultural land is in Dimasalang,
followed by Palanas, San Jacinto and PV Corpus. These are wealthier towns. On the contrary,
very few households in Balud owned agricultural land, which may be one reason why the
area remains poor. Balud is joined at the bottom by Milagros, Claveria and Uson. Apparently,
there is much inequality in land distribution because not one municipality recorded majority
of households owning agricultural land. Unstable land tenure among farmers may be reason
of high poverty incidence.
Powerlessness. Only Esperanza has no cooperative and hence no access to any services
such had to offer. Cawayan has only one cooperative while Placer, Batuan, San Fernando,
Baleno, Mobo, and PV Corpus have two cooperatives each. All these fail in comparison
with Masbate City having 52 cooperatives. Esperanza and Baleno each has only one nongovernment organization, followed by Placer, Cataingan, and Batuan with two each. Again,
Masbate City is better off with 92 non-government organizations, followed by Monreal with
13 and Milagros with 10.
The poorest towns fared poorly in terms of internal revenue allotment per person which
is an indicator of the municipality’s weak capacity to lobby for more share in government
funds. Aroroy has the lowest allotment, followed by Cawayan, Uson and Placer. Batuan has
the highest allotment, more than 650% higher than Aroroy’s. Other municipalities with the
highest internal revenue allotment are Baleno, Esperanza and Monreal.
Table 10: Number of Cooperatives, NGOs, Estimated IRA and Income Class of
Municipalities
Municipality
Number of Number of
Estimated Income class
cooperatives NGOs (SEC, IRA per cap- (PPDO, 2005)
(CDA, 2005)
2005)
ita (Php, PPDO, 2005)
1
Claveria
4
6
829.99
4th
2
San Pascual
6
4
878.55
4th
3
Batuan
2
2
1389.10
5th
4
Monreal
6
13
1174.24
4th
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5
San Fernando
2
8
1130.20
5th
6
San Jacinto
3
4
1021.95
4th
7
Balud
3
3
8
Mandaon
7
4
994.22
4th
9
Aroroy
6
24
183.01
2nd
10
Baleno
2
1
1266.58
4th
11
Milagros
13
10
3rd
12
Masbate City
52
92
5th
13
Mobo
2
5
4th
14
Uson
6
8
724.98
4th
15
Cawayan
1
5
716.45
3rd
16
Palanas
5
3
1131.90
4th
17
Dimasalang
5
6
1163.44
4th
18
Placer
2
2
757.48
4th
19
Cataingan
3
2
800.81
3rd
20
PV Corpus
2
3
997.44
4th
21
Esperanza
0
1
1174.45
5th
MASBATE
PROVINCE
132
206
587.4138
2nd
4th
Another indicator of powerlessness is income class since government income may spell a
difference in its capacity to deliver basic services and facilitate people’s access to resources.
There is no community in the province that belongs to first class. Only Aroroy made it to
second income class while about 62% of all municipalities are fourth class. Esperanza is
fifth class. Specifically, it has one ambulance vehicle which brings patients to the nearest
hospital located in Cataingan or Cawayan. Key informants relayed that a patient who is
identified as a supporter of the opposition would find it very difficult to get the approval of
the local government to be transferred to the nearest hospital.
The number of crimes against person is highest in Aroroy followed by Masbate City. It
is lowest in San Pascual and PV Corpus at one incidence each. The number of crimes against
property is highest in Masbate City while none was registered in San Pascual, Batuan, San
Fernando, San Jacinto, Baleno, Mandaon, Mobo, Uson, Dimasalang, Cataingan, PV Corpus
and Esperanza. This condition is true in Masbate communities for probable reason that there
is not much valuable property in these depressed areas. The crime rate is highest in Aroroy
and lowest in San Pascual, PV Corpus and Dimasalang.
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BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
Table 11: Number of Crimes Against Person and Property in Masbate
Municipality
Crimes Against Crimes against
Estimated Crimes
Person (PNP, Property (PNP, Against Person and
2005)
2005)
Property Per 1000 Population (PNP, 2005)
1
Claveria
8
1
0.22
2
San Pascual
1
0
0.02
3
Batuan
5
0
0.44
4
Monreal
4
3
0.33
5
San Fernando
6
0
0.30
6
San Jacinto
10
0
0.39
7
Balud
9
0
0.28
8
Mandaon
16
0
0.46
9
Aroroy
40
3
0.68
10
Baleno
8
2
0.45
11
Milagros
4
2
0.12
12
Masbate City
20
4
0.31
13
Mobo
6
0
0.19
14
Uson
6
0
0.12
15
Cawayan
6
1
0.12
16
Palanas
2
1
0.12
17
Dimasalang
2
0
0.09
18
Placer
8
2
0.20
19
Cataingan
5
0
0.10
20
PV Corpus
1
0
0.04
21
Esperanza
3
0
0.20
MASBATE
PROVINCE
206
19
0.29
Correlation between Poverty and Social Indicators of Deprivation
This section presents the correlation of economic indicator with the socio-political indicators
of deprivation. Details of these indicators are discussed under Methodology.
Physical Weakness. Positive correlation was observed between poverty incidence and the
proportion of malnourished children, estimated infant mortality rate, estimated maternal
mortality rate, proportion of households without access to potable water, and proportion of
households without access to sanitary toilet. The coefficients 0.31 and 0.42 show moderate
degree of correlation between poverty and infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate.
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL SCIENCES
This suggests that more infants and mothers in poor municipalities die during or short after
birth. The Pearson’s r 0.44 signifies that high scores of poverty are associated with notable
low scores in access to potable water.
Table 12: Correlation between NSCB Poverty Incidence Estimates and Indicators of
Physical Weakness
Indicators of Physical Weakness
Pearson’s Coefficient (r)
Proportion of malnourished children
0.19
Estimated infant mortality rate
0.31
Estimated maternal mortality rate
0.42
Proportion of households without access to potable water
0.44
Proportion of households without access to sanitary toilets
0.35
Isolation. Negative correlation was observed between economic poverty and elementary
school participation rate, secondary school participation rate, elementary cohort survival
rate, and secondary cohort survival rate. The coefficient -0.40 means that towns with high
poverty incidence have significantly low school participation rates.
Positive correlation exists between poverty incidence and elementary school drop out rate,
secondary school drop out rate and distance from the center of trade and commerce. The
coefficients 0.10 and 0.27 mean that higher scores in school drop out rates were associated
with nominally high scores in the rates of poverty. This may be explained by the likelihood
that more needy families in Masbate face difficulties in pursuing the education of their young
but given opportunities of free education, they strongly prefer to send their children to school.
Table 13: Correlation between NSCB Poverty Incidence Estimates and Indicators of
Isolation
Indicators of Isolation
Pearson’s Coefficient (r)
School participation rate – elementary
-0.19
School participation rate – secondary
-0.40
Drop out rate – elementary
0.10
Drop out rate – secondary
0.27
Cohort survival rate – elementary
-0.28
Cohort survival rate – secondary
-0.44
Distance from Masbate City - mainland towns (in km.)
0.09
Distance from Masbate City - island towns
(in nautical miles)
0.91
Vulnerability. There is negative association between poverty incidence and the proportion
of households with house owned or amortized, proportion of households with lot owned or
amortized, proportion of households with strong outer wall materials, proportion of households
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BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
with strong roof materials, and proportion of households with at least one household convenience. The proportion of households with strong outer wall materials is very strongly correlated
with poverty incidence at -0.82; while the number of households with strong roof materials
is negatively and moderately correlated with poverty incidence at -0.46. The coefficient 0.20 implies that families in Masbate, whether from poor or rich municipalities, can afford
at least one piece of appliance.
Table 14: Correlation between NSCB Poverty Incidence Estimates and Indicators of
Vulnerability
Indicators of Vulnerability
Pearson’s
Coefficient (r)
Proportion of households with house owned/ amortized
-0.11
Proportion of households with lot owned/ amortized
-0.10
Proportion of households with strong outer wall materials
-0.82
Proportion of households with strong roof materials
-0.46
Proportion of households with makeshift housing
0.73
Proportion of households with at least one household convenience
-0.20
Proportion of households owning agricultural land
0.05
On the other hand, there is positive relationship between poverty incidence and proportion
of households with makeshift housing and proportion of households owning agricultural
land. The coefficient 0.73 purports that higher poverty incidence is associated with poorer
shelter and housing conditions. The coefficient 0.05 denotes that poorer towns are endowed
with more land than their richer counterpart. But it was also noted earlier that in all municipalities of Masbate, majority households do not own agricultural land. Moreover, this statistical result may imply that in Masbate, mere access to land is not a key element to poverty
alleviation. Such resource may be left underutilized or not used at all for several reasons,
such as lack of capital, credit facilities, technology and technical know-how.
Powerlessness. Poverty incidence is negatively related with number of cooperatives,
number of non-government organizations, estimated internal revenue allotment, income
class, crimes against person and crimes against property. The coefficients -0.68 denote that
indigent neighbourhoods are less likely to have cooperatives and NGOs in the area.
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Table 15: Correlation between NSCB Poverty Incidence Estimates and Indicators of
Powerlessness.
Indicators of Powerlessness
Pearson’s Coefficient (r)
Number of cooperatives
-0.68
Number of NGOs
-0.68
Estimated IRA per capita
-0.45
Income class
-0.44
Crimes against person
-0.21
Crimes against property
-0.22
Internal revenue allotment comes from national taxes granted to cash-strapped LGUs. The
coefficient -0.45 uncovers the possibility that poor municipalities do not receive their fair
share of national government funds. Income class, on the other hand, reflects the capacity
of an LGU to raise revenues. The coefficient -0.44 reveals that poorer towns have lesser
capacity to support their LGUs and that these LGUs do not have much income-earning
activities. Moreover, government revenues may have been transformed into developmental
programs that benefited the underprivileged.
Policy Recommendations
As enumerated in the preceding section, the study proved that certain social and political
indicators of deprivation are associated with higher poverty incidence and reduced level of
deprivation is related to lower poverty incidence. Therefore, policy recommendations hereby
forwarded are consolidated to respond to the five clusters of Chambers’ Deprivation Trap.
The recommendation has four components: (1) governance capacity building; (2) service
delivery management; (3) livelihood development; and (4) community organizing. The first
component contributes to both poverty alleviation and reduction of isolation and powerlessness because if governance and government structures are truthful and effective, channels
are built to reach the remotest and poorest communities, and needs of the poor are efficiently
provided for. The second facilitates poverty alleviation and directly tackles physical weakness,
isolation and vulnerability. The third targets social and economic dimensions of poverty and
ensures that the poor will benefit directly from provision of basic services and livelihood
opportunities. The fourth puts primary importance to solving the problem of powerlessness
and isolation. The organizing work should empower the people in deciding for themselves,
confronting and resolving their own problems, setting their own life directions, and emerging
from poverty on a sustained basis.
1.
378
Governance Capacity Building. Poverty reduction is a major goal of any government
at any level. It is imperative to strengthen commitment by government and to improve
institutional capacity where services can be effectively delivered. Building institutional
capacity is a prime concern for the local government and barangay councils to deliver
basic services to the poor. These will only be possible if local governments are genuinely
committed and sincere to combat anti-poor tendencies such as corruption and political
BERNADETTE GAVINO-GUMBA
2.
3.
4.
accommodation. Hence, the government should uphold credible leadership that is
honest, accountable and transparent.
Service Delivery Management. An offshoot of the first strategy is on how programs
and services are delivered. One of the key issues why poverty persists in the province
is poor accessibility and quality of public services. If poverty has to be given solution,
there has to be mechanisms to deliver programs efficiently, as follows: (a) targeting of
program and services beneficiaries; (b) providing efficient programs and service delivery
toward job creation and socio-economic development; (c) building up economic infrastructures to encourage investors; (d) investment in social services; (e) promotion of
participative livelihood among constituency; and (f) establishment of delivery management systems and installation of quality check, program monitoring and evaluation.
Livelihood Development. This requires taking advantage of investment opportunities,
which generates employment and income for people with various skill levels, and which
in turn generates demand for goods produced in the private sector. In both the municipalities and barangays, the focus should be the services sectors and the small and medium
enterprises (SMEs). Skills training for the labor providers must be improved. SMEs
will be strengthened by making available credit and business support services and preparing them to become more competitive. Livelihood development is also facilitated
by access to land and availability of public infrastructure.
Community Organizing. As inferred in this study, poverty is not only a consequence
of economic decline but also of limited access to resources and services. It is imperative
that poverty reduction be focused on increasing access to education, health care, water,
sanitation, shelter and social opportunities through the following: (a) establishment of
people’s organizations and cooperatives that will assist in livelihood activities; (b) improved human development services like education, health, shelter, water, sanitation
and power; and (c) social protection of the poorest and most vulnerable sectors and
communities through social welfare and assistance, local safety nets and social security
and insurance.
References
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of Masbate. Peace and Equity Foundation, Inc., retrieved October 22, 2007 from www.pef.ph.
Department of Education (DEPED), 2005. Socio-Economic Profile of Masbate. Provincial Government
of Masbate, Republic of the Philippines.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), 2007. Socio-Economic Profile of Masbate.Provincial Government of Masbate, 2007. Republic of the Philippines.
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), 2005. Poverty Statistics, Region V. National Economic
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About the Author
Dr. Bernadette Gavino-Gumba
Associate Professor II at tne Ateneo de Naga University in Naga City, Philippines. Teaches
Principles of Economics, Agricultural Economics, Economic Development, Labor Economics,
International Economics, and Comparative Economic Systems. Past and present studies include women’s saving and investment behavior in a survival economy, social and economic
indicators of rural poverty and rural development in poorest provinces of the Philippines,
women’s access to productive resources and participation in economic activities. Holds two
bachelor’s degrees – Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Economics
and Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Accounting, a master’s degree in Economics,
and a doctor’s degree in Development Management. Also a Certified Public Accountant.
For twenty-four years of work at the Ateneo de Naga, served as Chairperson of Social Sciences Department for five years, Director of Ateneo Office of Gender Development for one
year, and Director of Ateneo Social Integration Office for four years.
380
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