At least 2 million Filipinos in Western Visayas are living below the poverty line according to the report presented by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board Secretariat.
Atty. Mary Pauline Hilado of the RTWPB said this is equivalent to a quarter of the population in the region. She explained that those living below the poverty threshold are those whose per capita income was not sufficient to meet their basic food and non-food needs.
The severity of poverty in Western Visayas according to her also increased by 38% in the first semester of 2021 as compared to the same period in 2018.
The lady lawyer added that since the current wage order was implemented back in 2019, there has been a 30% increase in diesel prices and 19.6% in gasoline prices.
The consumer price index also indicates that for one to afford a basket of goods, a household needs at least P112.14— this represents a 12% increase as compared to prices in 2018.
Hilado further said that the current value of one peso in the region has dropped to only 0.89 centavos as compared to its value back in 2018.
Hilado was in Negros Occidental for the RTWPB wage hearing at Nature’s Village Resort following the push of the labor representatives for a P350 increase in the current minimum wage in the region.
