Official data back need to increase minimum wage in Central Mindanao

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines — With the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board poised to set a new minimum wage rate, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) regional office has released data showing that a family of five in Central Mindanao can no longer sustain comfortable living conditions. Two years ago, the state agency said a family of five needed P5,927 to survive on a monthly basis. But with Central Mindanao’s inflation rate at 7.3% in March, a family needs P6,360 to live above the poverty level. Joel M. Gonzales, regional wage board secretary, said a decision on new minimum wage levels may be arrived at in a meeting on April 28. Militant groups have pressed for a legislated, across-the-board daily wage hike of P125. At the weekend, the regional NSCB office headed by Herlita G. Caraan released the three-year (2003-2006) regional poverty threshold. "The poverty threshold was 25.6% higher than the 2003 threshold of P11,328 as prices of basic commodities and services rose by 19.9% from 2003 to 2006," she said. Food threshold, which is the level needed by an individual to meet basic food and nutritional requirements, went up by 24.3% from P7,807 in 2003 to P9,702 in 2006 as food prices hiked by 22%. Even in 2006, when the daily wage rate was P224.50 per day, a minimum wage earner could barely support a family of five with a monthly pay of P5,837 against the monthly poverty threshold income of P5,927, the regional statistical office said. The latest poverty data noted that one in every three families in the region is considered poor, adding that the number of poor families increased by 11.4%, or 253,009 in 2006 from 227,093 in 2003 Among the region’s provinces, the cost of living was highest in South Cotabato, including General Santos City; the poverty threshold income is P15,431. Poverty threshold income was lowest in Sultan Kudarat at P13,036. Sarangani posted the highest poverty incidence where 45 of every 100 families are considered poor. North Cotabato has the least poverty incidence at 27.7%. — Romer S. Sarmiento, BusinessWorld