IBON: Family of five needs at least P23,660 monthly to live in NCR

A family of five living in Metro Manila needs over P23,000 to meet both basic food and non-food needs every month, research group IBON Foundation claimed Sunday.

In an emailed statement, IBON said a family with five members living in the National Capital Region (NCR) would need at least P1,004 daily to sustain the basic needs of each member as of March 2019.

This would translate into a family living wage (FLW) of P23,660 per month, which is more than double the poverty threshold reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) last week, with 2018 as the reference period.

'Unrealistic' gov't threshold

"The choice of official poverty lines is a political one. Setting a high standard indicates the government having a high level of ambition for poverty eradication," said IBON.

"Government, however has chosen to set a low standard—in this case, the P10,481 per month or P69.87 per day poverty threshold—which results in tens of millions of Filipinos not meeting minimum standards of well-being and hidden behind unrealistic official poverty statistics," it elaborated.

Breaking down the amount, IBON said the biggest expenses would be for food expenditures which was reported at P11,262 per month, followed by house rent expenditures at P3,965.

These were followed by utilities (P2,295), water electricity gas and others (P2,295), transport (P1,254), health (P521), and furnishings (P426).

Also included in the costs were clothing (P402), communication (P402), education (P308), special family occasions (P260), and furniture and equipment (P166).

Other monthly expenses cited by IBON are alcoholic beverages (P142), recreation and culture (P118), miscellaneous goods and services (P1,349), other expenditure (P426), and savings (P355).

For its part, the PSA clarified that while a family of five can survive with a monthly budget of P10,481, it does not necessarily mean that they are not poor.

"Pag below doon, 'yun 'yung sinasabi namin na nasa poverty. Hindi namin sinasabi na porket may P10,000 ka eh hindi ka na mahirap. Pero kumakain ka. Nabili mo 'yung basic food mo," said PSA Assistant Secretary Josie Perez.

"Kung meron sila doon sa poverty threshold nila, kaya nilang mabili 'yung kailangan nilang food at kaya din nilang mabili 'yung other non-food necessities," she elaborated. — BM, GMA News