Bukidnon: Despite a modest drop in its poverty rate, Bukidnon remains among the poorest provinces in the Philippines, with 27 percent of its population still living in poverty, slightly down from 29.2 percent in 2021. In a news release on Tuesday, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) reported that Bukidnon lawmakers are concerned with the slow pace of improvement and are pushing for stronger coordination and funding for anti-poverty programs tailored to the province's unique challenges.
According to Philippines News Agency, Representatives Jose Manuel Alba (1st District), Audrey Zubiri (3rd), Laarni Roque (4th), and Arlyn Ayon (Swerte party-list) met with NAPC Secretary Lope Santos III to examine poverty-reduction efforts and explore how national and local government collaboration could be improved for better outcomes. The discussion focused on poverty data trends, grassroots implementation challenges, and the potential of scaling up support for microfinance initiatives.
Santos presented updated data showing that both individual and family poverty levels in Bukidnon remain significantly higher than the national average. While current efforts have yielded incremental progress, he acknowledged that poverty remains deeply entrenched, particularly in upland farming communities and indigenous populations. He also highlighted a joint resolution passed on Sept. 24 by the Bukidnon Provincial Development Council, developed in coordination with the NAPC Local Affairs Coordinating and Monitoring Service.
The resolution supports the national government's goal of reducing poverty incidence to single digits and endorses NAPC's proposal to allocate PHP10 million to each of the 224 local government units, including Bukidnon, and to the nine poorest provinces, to fund Local Poverty Reduction Action Plans. Bukidnon's congressional delegation also rallied behind the call to fulfill the long-delayed PHP4.5 billion allocation for the People's Development Trust Fund, which supports microfinance and micro-enterprise initiatives. They said such programs could empower poor families to build sustainable livelihoods and break the cycle of dependence.
Philippine Statistics Authority data showed that Bukidnon is among the top farming areas in the Philippines, making up 6.8 percent of the country's total farm production in 2023-2024. However, this creates an odd situation -- the area produces lots of food but many people there are still poor, the provincial government said in a news release on Oct. 3. Natural disasters also exacerbate conditions for poor families, with setbacks from bad weather or family emergencies often pushing families back into poverty.
NAPC Regional Coordinator Cecilia Cabusas noted that most of the farms are owned by big companies, not local farmers. "Many farmers work on land they don't own. While poverty has decreased across the Philippines, some towns in Bukidnon are seeing more poverty," she said.
