The Philippine Institute for Development Studies said Filipinos classified as “non-poor” may actually be living in poverty, as current measurement methods fail to capture resource sharing within households. Studies presented at a webinar showed that household income averages mask intra-household inequalities. Women and children in particular may face deprivation despite non-poor household status.
MANILA — The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) stated yesterday that official poverty statistics may overlook true deprivation because they do not account for unequal resource sharing within households.
Researchers led by PIDS supervising research specialist Deanne Lorraine Cabalfin presented a study titled “Measuring Poverty within Filipino Households: Examining Resources Sharing and Economic Scale” during a webinar. It found women receive only 25 to 43 percent of household resources, while children get as little as 7 to 19 percent, particularly in larger families. “Official figures assume that every household member receives an equal slice of income. This design makes intra-household inequality invisible, and systematically misses the gender gap,” Cabalfin said.
She added, “Many children that may be living in non-poor households may, in fact, be considered poor.”
PIDS senior research fellow Jose Ramon Albert noted that many non-poor families, including low-income, rural, and middle-class ones, risk falling into poverty. “Our point here is that we don’t just need to reduce poverty, but we need to prevent households from becoming poor in the future,” he said. Christian Deloria of BRAC International agreed this reflects a global pattern.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said the findings underscore the need to strengthen social protection systems.