Two in every five poor Filipino families do not have electricity in their homes

Based on the results of the 2007 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, 38.0 percent of families in the bottom 30% income stratum do not have electricity in their homes compared to 6.5 percent among families in the upper 70% income stratum. The bottom 30% of all families in this report represents the poor families.

At the national level, 16.0 percent of all families do not have electricity.

Regions with highest percentages of families without electricity are Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) (36.5%), MIMAROPA (35.4%) and Zamboanga Peninsula (35.4%).

One in five families does not have access to safe water supply

Almost 83 percent of the total families have access to a safe source of water supply. Considered as clean and safe sources of water supply are community water system and protected well. The remaining 17 percent of families obtain their water from sources considered unsafe, such as unprotected well (5.7%), developed spring (4.8%), undeveloped spring (1.9%), river, stream, pond, lake or dam (1.1%), rainwater (0.4%), tanker truck or peddler (2.3%) and other sources (0.8%).

Nine in 10 families that belong to the upper 70% income stratum have access to safe water compared to seven in 10 families in the bottom 30% income stratum.

Four regions have over 90 percent of their families with access to safe water. These are Central Luzon (93.8%), Cagayan Valley (92.6%), Ilocos (91.2%) and NCR (90.9%).

In ARMM, less than half (48.1%) of the families have access to safe water.

One in 10 Filipino families has no sanitary toilet

The proportion of Filipino families using sanitary toilets is 88.4 percent. Sanitary toilet refers to flush toilet (either owned or shared) and closed pit type of toilet facility.

Other families use open pit (3.5%), drop or overhang (1.4%), pail system (0.7%) and other types of toilets (0.3%), which are considered unsanitary toilets.

There are 5.7 percent families without toilet facilities in their homes at all.

Regions with over 20 percent of families without sanitary toilets are Central Visayas (20.2%), Zamboanga Peninsula (21.3%), Eastern Visayas (22.3%) and ARMM (50.1%).

Poor families are more likely to use an unsanitary toilet than non-poor families. The percentage of poor families without sanitary toilet at home is 26.2 percent compared to 5.4 percent among non-poor families.

Seven out of 10 families in the country own the house and lot they occupy

Sixty-nine percent of families in the country own the house and lot they occupy. The remaining 31 percent occupy houses and lots under the following tenure: own house, rent-free lot with consent of owner (12.8%), rent house/room including lot (7.5%), rent-free house and lot with consent of owner (4.8%), own house, rent-free lot without consent of owner (3.4%), own house, rent lot (2.7%), and rent-free house and lot without consent of owner (0.3%).

Among the families in the upper 70% income stratum, 70.4 percent own their house and lot while among the bottom 30% income stratum, 64.1 percent.

Among the regions, NCR (54.8%), Caraga (52.3%) and Western Visayas (51.6%) have the lowest percentage of families owning house and lot.

In NCR, only 39.4 percent of families in the bottom 30% income stratum own the house and lot they are occupying.

Seven in 10 families are living in houses with roofs made of strong materials

Families living in houses with roofs made of strong materials comprised 72.1 percent. Strong materials include galvanized iron/aluminum, tile, concrete, brick, stone and asbestos.

Eighty percent of families in the upper 70% income stratum have housing units made of strong roofs compared to 52.7 percent of families in the bottom 30%.

Three in 10 poor families have roofs made of light materials. Considered as light materials are cogon, nipa and anahaw.

Six out of 10 families are occupying housing units with outer walls made of strong materials

Families occupying housing units with outer walls made of strong materials constitute 63.6 percent of total families in the Philippines. Strong materials include concrete, brick, stone, asbestos, galvanized iron/aluminum and tile.

Only 40.6 percent of families in the bottom 30% income stratum are living in housing units with outer walls made of strong materials compared to 73.5 percent among families in the upper 70% income stratum.

Among the regions, Cordillera Administrative Region recorded the highest percentage (89.3%) of families living in houses with strong outer walls.

On the other hand, Western Visayas have the lowest percentage (36.8%) of families living in houses with strong outer walls.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide information on the different non-income indicators related to poverty. Since 1998, APIS has been conducted during the years when the Family Income and Expenditures Survey is not conducted. Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (APIS)ovides social, economic and demographic data on Filipino families which have been correlated with poverty.

The 2007 APIS is the fifth in the series of annual poverty indicators surveys conducted by the National Statistics Office. Fieldwork for the 2007 APIS was carried out on July 9 to 31, 2007.

Out of the 43,107 eligible sample households, 40,239 were successfully interviewed in APIS 2007. This translated to a response rate of 93.3 percent at the national level.

For the purpose of this report, families are grouped into two income strata, the Bottom 30% and Upper 70%. This grouping of families was used as a proxy for those falling below the poverty line. The Bottom 30% refers to the lowest 30 percent of the total families in the per capita income distribution, arranged in descending order. These families are considered the poor families. On the other hand, the Upper 70%, considered as non-poor, refers to the upper 70 percent of the total families in the per capita income distribution.

Source:   National Statistics Office
                 Manila, Philippines