Hunger keeps rising, poverty also up -- SWS MORE FILIPINOS are going hungry and consider themselves poor, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report, the details of which highlight the challenges facing the Aquino administration. A March 4-7 poll, the results of which were made exclusive to BusinessWorld, had 20.5% of respondents -- or an estimated 4.1 million families -- claiming to have gone hungry at least once in the past three months. This was up from the 18.1% (an estimated 3.4 million families) recorded in November 2010 when the rate again began climbing from that year’s 15.9% low. The result is also almost seven points above the 12-year average of 13.8%, the SWS said. Last month’s poll, moreover, found that 51% -- an estimated 10.4 million families -- consider themselves mahirap or poor, two points up from November’s 49%. Also, 40% (8.1 million families), consider themselves food-poor, higher than the 36% notched in the previous survey. A senior government official said external shocks likely contributed and added that the Aquino administration remained committed to its promise of alleviating poverty. The rise in overall hunger, the SWS said, resulted from increases for both moderate and severe hunger. The area comprising Balance Luzon was the hardest hit, with hunger rates hitting record highs. Nationwide, moderate hunger -- experiencing it only once or a few times -- rose to 15.7% (an estimated 3.2 million families) from 15% (2.8 million families) in November. Severe hunger -- experiencing it often or always -- increased to 4.7% (950,000 families) from 3.1% (588,000 families). By area, overall hunger hit a record 25% (2.2 million families) in Balance Luzon from 18.3% (1.5 million families). The new rate topped the previous high of 22.3% in September 2007, and offset declines in Mindanao (16.7% from 18%), Metro Manila (20.7% from 21.7%) and the Visayas (14.7% from 15.3%). Broken down, moderate hunger hit a record 18.7% in Balance Luzon, overtaking record of 18.1% in March 2010. This also cancelled out improvements in the Visayas (9.7% from 12.7%), Metro Manila (16.7% from 17.7%) and Mindanao (14.7% from 16%). "The new moderate hunger rates are still higher than their 12-year averages for all areas, except in the Visayas where the latest ... is lower than the 12-year average of 10.2%," the SWS said. Severe hunger also hit a record high of 6.3% in Balance Luzon, surpassing the 6% hit in December 2008. The rate stayed at 4% in Metro Manila and at 2% in Mindanao but rose to 5% from 2.7% in the Visayas. The latest rates were also higher than the 12-year averages for all areas except for Mindanao where it is some two points lower. Self-rated poverty, meanwhile, rose in all areas except Metro Manila, where it fell 10 points to 34% from 44%. This, however, was overwhelmed by an eight-point increase in the Visayas (61% from 53%), a five-point gain in Mindanao (49% from 44%), and by a three-point rise in Balance Luzon (54% from 51%). It rose by four points to 59% in rural areas and by three points to 45% in urban areas. Self-rated food poverty fell by four points to 24% in Metro Manila but increased elsewhere: 12 points to 51% in the Visayas, four points to 42% in Balance Luzon and by four points to 38% in Mindanao. The self-rated poverty threshold -- the monthly budget that poor households need in order not to consider themselves poor in general -- remained sluggish despite inflation. Compared to the previous quarter, the median poverty threshold for poor households stayed at P15,000 in Metro Manila, P9,000 in Balance Luzon and P8,000 in the Visayas; it rose to P7,000 from P5,000 in Mindanao. These amounts had been surpassed in the past in those areas, the SWS said. As of March 2011, the median food-poverty threshold for poor households in Metro Manila fell back to P8,000 after a record-high P9,000 in the previous quarter. It went up to P5,000 from P4,000 in Balance Luzon, stayed at P4,000 in the Visayas, and rose to P3,850 from P3,000 in Mindanao. These amounts had also been surpassed in the past, the SWS said. As a measurement of belt-tightening, the SWS said Metro Manila’s median poverty threshold of P15,000 in Metro Manila was barely above the P10,000 in 2000 even though the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had risen by over 60%. The P15,000, it said, is equivalent to just P8,886 in base year 2000 purchasing power and is a throwback to living standards of over fifteen years ago. At the March 2011 cost of living, the 2010 median of P10,000 is equivalent to P16,880, and deducting the current P15,000 means households cut living standards by P1,880. In terms of food poverty, food-poor Metro Manila households tightened belts by P42. Sought for comment, Social Welfare Undersecretary Celia C. Yangco said: "During the last quarter, we’ve experienced a lot of shocks ... such as the troubles arising in the Middle East ... we’ve also seen an increase in food prices over the past quarter." She noted, however, that the government was continuing to undertake "sustainable livelihood" schemes such as conditional cash transfers and the KALAHI-CIDSS community development program. The SWS polled 1,200 adults nationwide for the latest survey, which used sampling error margins of ±3% for national and ±6% for area percentages. -- J. D. Poblete
GIR rose to $66.2 billion from February’s $63.9 billion, just short of the $68-70 billion target for this year. The increase was due to "foreign exchange inflows coming from the proceeds of the national government’s global bond issuance on March 30, 2011, foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad of the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], and revaluation gains on the BSP’s gold holdings on account of rising gold prices," the central bank said in a statement. The government raised $1.5 billion from an offering of 15-year dollar-denominated bonds last month. It earlier raised $1.25 billion from a January sale of 25-year global peso bonds. The inflows, the central bank said, were partly offset by payments for the government’s maturing foreign exchange obligations. Foreign exchange holdings rose to $418.29 million in March from $309.76 million the month before, the BSP said. Other components of GIR such as the central bank’s holdings of gold and foreign exchange also increased. The central bank’s foreign investments -- which comprise the bulk of the GIR -- grew to $57.19 billion from $55.11 billion. These are placements in money market instruments abroad, such as interest-earning deposits with foreign correspondent banks and government-backed securities such as US Treasury bills. Gold holdings grew to $7.08 billion from $6.97 billion, while Special Drawing Rights remained unchanged in March. The central bank’s reserve position inched up to $361.16 million from $358.32 million month on month. The government’s net international reserves (NIR), including the revaluation of reserve assets and reserve-related liabilities, rose to $66.2 billion from $63.9 billion the month before. The central bank said end-March GIR was enough to cover 10.2 months worth of imports. It was also equivalent to 10.5 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.9 times based on residual maturity. -- ASOA |
U.S. Stocks Drop on Japan Earthquake, Government Budget Impasse U.S. stocks fell, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average down from an almost three-year high, as another earthquake shook Japan and a dispute over the federal budget threatened to shut down the American government. Caterpillar Inc., the largest maker of construction equipment, slid 1 percent to lead declines in the Dow. The iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ), an exchange-traded security tracking the nation’s equities, fell 0.8 percent. Gap Inc. (GPS) dropped 1.5 percent as the largest U.S. apparel chain reported a 10 percent slump in same-store sales. KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) sank 4.6 percent after Citigroup Inc. advised selling rival semiconductor-equipment maker Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) The S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent to 1,333.51 at 4 p.m. in New York, after dropping as much as 0.7 percent. The Dow, which climbed yesterday to the highest level since June 2008, slipped 17.26 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,409.49 today. “It’s body blow after body blow,” said Matt McCormick, a Cincinnati-based money manager at Bahl & Gaynor Inc., which oversees $3.6 billion. “The market has faced a series of black swans. We don’t know the impacts of the Japan situation. We don’t know what will happen in the Middle East. In addition, people are skittish because of all the budget discussion and concern about the future of monetary and fiscal policies.”
Investors bought notes after rates on six-month bills fell to a record low this week with the Treasury reducing issuance to avoid exceeding a federal debt limit. Lawmakers are seeking to reach a compromise on the budget and avert a shutdown. Notes also rose after another earthquake in Japan. Thirty-year bonds fell ahead of next week’s sale of the securities. “It’s a pricing in of the risk that the government actually does end up being shut down for a certain period,” said Ian Lyngen, a government bond strategist at CRT Capital Group LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “If they do shut down, it’s a front-end bullish curve-steepening event. The long end is priced in a supply concession.” Two-year note yields decreased five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 0.78 percent at 5 p.m. in New York. It was the lowest level since April 5. The price of the 0.75 percent security due in March 2013 rose 3/32, or 94 cents per $1,000 face amount, to 99 30/32. Thirty-year bond yields advanced two basis points to 4.62 percent. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was little changed at 3.55 percent. |
Crude Oil Climbs Above $110 a Barrel in N.Y. on Libya, Middle East Unrest Crude rose above $110 a barrel for the first time in 30 months as a fire burned at Libya’s Sarir oilfield, bolstering concern that unrest in North Africa and the Middle East will spread, curbing shipments. Futures climbed 1.4 percent after NATO said forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi caused a fire at the field, according to Al Arabiya television. The conflict in Libya is currently in a stalemate, said Army General Carter Ham, the U.S. commander for Africa. Revolts have led to the overthrow of governments in Egypt and Tunisia and targeted regimes from Syria to Bahrain. “The situation in Libya, and issues elsewhere in the Middle East, offer a chance to buy the rumor,” said Sarah Emerson, managing director of Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. “There’s a tremendous upward momentum and I see nothing in the near-term to stop the rally.” Crude oil for May delivery rose $1.47 to $110.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Sept. 22, 2008. Futures are up 28 percent from a year ago. Brent oil for May settlement increased 37 cents, or 0.3 percent, to end the session at $122.67 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was the highest settlement price since Aug. 1, 2008. |
Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, www.inquirer.net, www.philstar.com, www.bworldonline.com, www.cnnmoney.com
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