Self-rated poor need double their monthly budget to rise above poverty

A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey has shown that poor Filipino families lack half of the minimum monthly budget needed to rise above poverty.

Based on a March 25-28 poll of 1,200 adults nationwide, the national median Self-Rated Poverty Gap (SRPG) — or the difference between the actual income of the poor and the poverty line — was found to be at P5,000.

The Self-Rated Poverty Threshold (SRPT) — or the minimum budget needed by poor households in order to get out of poverty — is P10,000. This would mean that those under the poverty line need double their monthly budget to escape poverty.

The SWS survey also placed at P2,000 the amount the poorer half of the food-poor lack in order to consider their food as such — or what is called the Self-Rated Food Poverty Gap (SRFPG).

This was less than half their stated Self-Rated Food Poverty Threshold (SRFPT) of P5,000 or the minimum monthly food budget that poor families need in order not to consider their food as for the poor.

“This has been the case [for SRPG] since September 2016... [And] this has been the case [for SRFPG] since December 2016," said the SWS about the poll commissioned by BusinessWorld.

“In the past, the median SRPG has generally been half the amount of the median SRPT, and the median SRFPG has generally been half the amount of the median SRFPT. This means that the poorer half of the poor lack half the amount of money they need to survive," it added. — MDM, GMA News