While the Bangsamoro region’s poverty incidence has been decreasing, it still has the highest poverty incidence in the country.
Claim: The Bangsamoro region has been experiencing a significant decrease in its poverty index since 2018
Rating: Missing Context
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded a notable drop in its poverty index since 2018 because of the improved peace and order situation and good governance in the region.
“The improved peace and order situation, good governance — not to mention high hopes and confidence amongst its people — all contribute to the reasons why BARMM’s poverty index has significantly decreased since 2018,” Marcos Jr. said.
According to the 2023 First Semester Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), BARMM had a poverty incidence of 34.8 percent among families in the first half of 2023. This was a decrease of 4.6 percentage points from 39.4 percent in the first half of 2021 and a significant drop from 55.9 percent in the first half of 2018.
However, the PSA noted that BARMM still “consistently registered the highest poverty incidence among families” among all Philippine regions.”
The PSA’s figures did not include the 63 barangays from Cotabato that are now part of BARMM.
This trend was echoed by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan in a December 2023 statement, where he said:
“While poverty incidence decreased in BARMM, it remains the highest in the country.”
PSA defines poverty incidence as the proportion of families or individuals with per capita income or expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families or individuals.
While Marcos Jr. omitted the fact that BARMM has the highest poverty incidence in the country, he had basis in attributing the region’s reducing poverty rate to an improved peace and order situation.
In a press briefing in January, National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Lope Santos III noted that BARMM was experiencing an improving business climate and that the Marawi rehabilitation had created employment opportunities for the local population.
“This is due to the businesses in BARMM and the Marawi rehabilitation, which created employment for the people there,” Santos said.
On Saturday, BARMM Cabinet Secretary Asnin Pendatu said things were getting better in the region.
“Mayroon naman pong mga signs or at least we have forthcoming investments that we see that would help in further reducing the poverty incidence in the region,” he said.
Pendatu also reported that P3.1 billion in investments resulted in 1,927 job opportunities in 2023 due to the region’s “relatively better peace and security situation.” Carlo Jose H. Ruga
