poverty in manila essay

Community Developments

The outreach blog : from the field, the state of poverty in the philippines: what are the causes.

The Philippines and its roughly 117,000,000 people have struggled with income inequality for generations. Even as infrastructure and opportunity has improved in highly populated areas in recent decades, poverty in the Philippines, particularly for people living in remote areas, remains a serious issue.

In this blog post, you’ll learn about the complex issue of chronic poverty in the Philippines, its causes, and its impact on families. Additionally, you’ll see how Outreach International is working to alleviate poverty in this Southeast Asian nation.

Decoding Poverty: A Deep Dive into the Statistics

According to the World Bank , between 1985 and 2018, the poverty rate in the Philippines declined by two-thirds, thanks to economic growth initiatives and investment in infrastructure, including education. However, the improvements were largely focused in the most populated areas, where the most opportunities already existed. According to the Asian Development Bank , the top one percent of earners have benefitted the most, capturing 17 percent of the national income, while only 14 percent of national income is obtained by the lowest-earning 50 percent of the population.

The Philippines’ income inequality stems from several structural factors. Higher education and job skills development remain out of reach for many. Unequal access to college, and social norms that leave women at a disadvantage, also contribute to persistent inequality. And the geography of this archipelago nation makes the issue even more difficult to solve, as opportunities and natural resources are unevenly distributed.

Understanding the Impact of Family Poverty

Family poverty is not just about financial struggle. It affects every aspect of a household’s well-being. Children who live in poverty are less likely to enroll in school and reach age-appropriate grade levels because their time is needed to help the family strive to meet their basic daily subsistence needs. This stifles their access to higher education and the future opportunities it would bring, limiting earning potential, the potential economic growth of families, and the possibility of community development.

Managing Resources: Addressing Poverty in High Population Areas

Population density has a significant impact on poverty in the Philippines. High-population areas often struggle to manage limited natural and government resources, which negatively impacts quality of life. And a lack of job opportunities in densely populated areas contributes to poverty rates. These challenges trickle into remote areas, making it even more difficult for rural communities and marginalized people to break their own unending cycle of poverty .

Living Conditions and Resource Challenges

Living conditions in densely populated areas of the Philippines are affected by resource scarcity and inadequate government support systems. Access to basic necessities like electricity, safe drinking water, and quality education remains uneven. This scarcity not only limits the potential for development across the nation but also perpetuates inequality. As a result, impoverished communities face daily struggles, making it all the more challenging to break free from the cycle of poverty.

The Pandemic’s Impact: A Crisis Amplifying Poverty

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on poverty in the Philippines. In 2020, the pandemic halted economic growth, leading to even higher unemployment rates. As this trend continued into 2021, poverty rates rose to 18.1 percent (World Bank). This amounts to just under 20 million people. And though the economy continues to recover, this recovery is uneven, with the poorest households benefiting the least. As improvements are bringing many areas back to normal, communities in many remote areas still struggle to bring their economies back to even just the already challenging pre-pandemic levels.

One constant struggle for families living in poverty is food insecurity. And according to sources such as the National Library of Medicine , this became even more significant during the pandemic. Almost two-thirds (61.2%) of households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity during the many months of quarantine. And with rising food prices and limited natural resources, vulnerable households often had to limit their food intake. This caused a lack of proper nutrition, particularly for children. Outreach International has implemented an effective method of combating food insecurity for even the most impoverished families. Our partners in OPI have helped community-led organizations develop rice loans . These are low-interest loans of rice or the funds to buy it. And because the communities manage these loans themselves, borrowers can avoid predatory outside lending institutions and can deal with people they know and trust.

Initiatives That Changed the Reality

In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, both the Philippine government and organizations like Outreach International have implemented various initiatives to alleviate poverty and its effects. Some organizations have provided health services and relief assistance to affected communities. Such initiatives are essential in mitigating the immediate impact of the crisis and helping vulnerable populations in the short term.

But Outreach International also focuses on more long-term and sustainable initiatives that can forever break the cycle of poverty . Our methodology of community-led development allows people who live in chronic poverty to learn that they have the power within themselves to improve their lives permanently. Our partners in the Philippines, Outreach Philippines Incorporated (OPI), work with leaders in communities to identify their own unique poverty-related issues, and then mobilize to solve them. They learn how to develop networks with government agencies and NGOs that are able to provide resources. And they learn how to set ever-increasing goals of improvement, leading to continuous development that is sustainable for generations.

Join the Cause: How You Can Help

You can choose to play a role in alleviating poverty in the Philippines. And there are so many ways to help , from donating to Outreach International to fundraising to volunteering . By working together, we can collectively make a difference in the lives of those affected by poverty in the Philippines.

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Poverty, Inequality, and Development in the Philippines: Official Statistics and Selected Life Stories

• January 2019
• European Journal of Sustainable Development 8(1)

• De La Salle University
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What Has Really Happened to Poverty in the Philippines?: New Measures Evidence and Policy Implications

July 31, 2013.

Poverty is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional phenomenon, yet its assessment continues to be conducted almost exclusively in terms of income (or expenditure). This practice is prevalent partly because low household incomes are casually associated with other deprivation indicators, such as low levels of literacy and life expectancy.

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Sustaining poverty escapes in the philippines.

Briefing/policy paper

Written by Vidya Diwakar

"People, economy and the environment matters for development. You cannot talk about just one. Because if you talk about the economy, what about the people?" (FGD, Daraga).

This policy brief draws on results of mixed methods research in the Philippines, to offer policy and programming implications for sustained poverty reduction. The data sources on which the research was based are:

• analysis of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey in 2003, 2006, and 2009;
• key informant interviews in Manila in 2018 with a range of policy makers, researchers, development partners and program implementers; and
• qualitative interviews with 40 households in the Bicol and Soccsksargen regions of the Philippines in 2018 to investigate the pathways of sustainable poverty escapes.

This policy brief advocates a portfolio response to poverty reduction that incorporates a sound understanding of poverty dynamics. In doing so, it focuses on four areas. Out of the long list of topics described in the research report, these four areas were chosen as they emerged as particularly salient issues out of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of resilience and sustainable poverty escapes:

• Improve targeting of health insurance to strengthen social safety nets and complement household efforts already underway to escape poverty through social capital;
• Deepen financial inclusion to build resilience in high risk environments to prevent households from falling back into poverty;
• Ensure safe work conditions, and develop skills to sustain poverty escapes; and
• Strengthen value chains in rural areas where agriculture is the mainstay of the chronic poor.

Note: this policy implication brief is accompanied by the Understanding and supporting sustained pathways out of extreme poverty and deprivation: Philippines National Report , which investigates the drivers of sustained and transitory escapes from poverty in the Philippines. 

Vidya Diwakar

The Philippines Can Overcome Poverty

Opening Remarks by  Mara K. Warwick,  Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand

at the launch of  Making Growth Work for the Poor: A Poverty Assessment for the Philippines

As Prepared for Delivery

I am pleased to welcome you to today’s media briefing on the Philippines Poverty Assessment report, entitled “ Making Growth Work for the Poor: A Poverty Assessment for the Philippines .”

The Report has two important stories to tell. The first story is inspiring. And gives everyone hope: The Philippines can overcome poverty!

The reason for this optimism is that from 2006 to 2015, robust economic growth helped the poverty rate in the Philippines to fall by 5 percentage points. Hence, poverty declined from 26.6 percent in 2006 to 21.6 percent in 2015. The contributing factors for this decline in poverty were the expansion of jobs outside agriculture, government transfers, in particular to qualified poor families through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and remittances.

School enrollment has notably increased in recent years, with universal and mandatory kindergarten as well as two years of senior high school added to the education cycles. Pro-poor policies and changes to health insurance coverage have resulted in increased use of health services. Access to clean water and sanitation and electricity has improved. Social safety nets were expanded to cover most of the poor.

All these developments give us hope that poverty can be overcome. It is not at all insurmountable.

But here is the second story, an equally important one: The Philippines needs to do more to end poverty. 

While poverty has declined, there are still about 22 million poor Filipinos, as of 2015. These poor families most often live in rural areas with limited access to quality schools, health centers, and safe drinking water, not to mention, roads and transportation that will help them go to their jobs or bring their produce to market.

Some poor families live in areas scarred by conflict or prone to natural disasters. Conflict can force families to move far away from their homes. Disasters can knock down families that are struggling to climb the economic ladder.

Poor families are most often trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. They usually have many children, an average of 5 per family. Pregnant mothers face high risk: every day, 5 Filipina women die in childbirth or due to other causes related to pregnancy.

In a poor family of 5 children, 2 will likely be stunted, a visible sign of malnutrition. Children who remain malnourished in the first 1000 days of their lives do not fully develop the neural connections in their brains, making them unable to reach their full potential, even as adults.  

Just half the children in the poor households will enroll in lower secondary school. Even those who do enroll may learn little due to malnourishment and poor quality of instruction. As a result, when they grow up, their chances of getting a well-paying job are slim.

So the Philippines has experienced success in reducing poverty. But there are  remaining challenges, What can we all do together to end poverty?

How can we unlock this trap and make growth work for the poor?  How can one family break from the path of poverty so the future generations have a better life than their parents or grandparents?

I want to highlight a few particular points.

The number one priority is creating more and better jobs, to offer opportunity for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty.

Since two out of five of the country’s poor are in Mindanao, unlocking Mindanao’s potential is critical in bringing down poverty in the entire country.

In addition, tackling the country’s severe stunting crisis will require an all hands-on-deck effort, starting with maternal health and focusing health interventions on the “first 1000 days” of life.

And creating opportunities for children means also ensuring that the poor attend school and that the schools they attend foster learning.

Many of these policy suggestions align well with the Government’s long-term vision -- the AmBisyon 2040 and the Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022 , which aims to transform the country into a prosperous middle-class society.

In closing, I would like to repeat the message:  With solid economic fundamentals, the Philippines can overcome poverty.  It is important to break the cycle of inequitable investment in human capital, making the pattern of growth more inclusive and creating opportunities for more and better jobs.

The World Bank believes that, together, with various stakeholders, we can take concrete actions to end poverty in the Philippines.

Before I close, let me add one remark. The Poverty Assessment is an analytical report – we have delved into the data and information that’s available on poverty to come up with an up-to-date and sound analytical basis for policy making. It is a foundational piece and more work will be done by us and others to really take the recommendations and to work in more detail on how to do that -- what needs to change in the Philippines in order to address the problems in a more focused way and how to carry these  forward. Our team will also explain during the Q and A session that there will also be other follow up work by the World Bank, by government, and others to take these recommendations to the policy realm.

Thank you very much and may we all have a very fruitful discussion today.

Maraming Salamat Po! [Thank you very much!]

In Manila: David Llorito, +63-465-2514, [email protected]

Home / Essay Samples / Social Issues / Homelessness / Fighting Poverty in the Philippines: Challenges and Solutions

Fighting Poverty in the Philippines: Challenges and Solutions

• Category: Social Issues , World , Government
• Topic: Homelessness , Philippines , Unemployment

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Fighting poverty in the philippines, reducing poverty, ambisyon natin 2040.

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