Jan 14, 2012
Maguindanao in Focus
by Mary Ann Manahan
The Ampatuan massacre in Maguindanao where 57 people, including journalists, lawyers, aides, motorists, and Mangudadatus, were killed, opened a Pandora’s Box of societal problems and highlighted the many ironies that have beset not only Muslim Mindanao but also the country. There are a couple of contradictions emerging from official statistics.
First, despite the high employment rate of 92% (2002 levels, see table 3) and an annual per capita poverty threshold of PhP 15,556.00, which is a little bit higher than the national average, Maguindanao remains as one of the poorest provinces in the country (see figure 1). With a population of more than 1 million in 2006, six out of ten people are considered poor in the province, which is almost three times higher than the national average (see table 1). Maguindanao is also a “mainstay” in the list of ten provinces with the biggest income gap, poverty gap, and severity of poverty (see figure 2).
Second, despite the higher annual per capita food threshold, i.e. the “cost of the food required to satisfy nutritional requirements for economically necessary and socially desirable physical activities”, the subsidence among families is twice as high as the national average of 11% (see table 2).
Such contradictions, however, becomes moot and academic when examining other indicators of human development such as health, education, access to safe water and sanitation, access to land, and the overall human development index.
• Health. According to the Health Research Agenda of Mindanao: A Zonal Report, 2006-2010 by Marlina Lacuesta, et.al, the leading causes of sickness include “infectious diseases, namely hepatitis, scabies, diarrhea, waterborne diseases, food poisoning, and dengue, are reported in the regional consultation as the leading causes of sickness.” Also, accidents and gunshot wounds top the leading causes of mortality in the ARMM. This is not surprising since Maguindanao only has 178 total health workers available per 100,000 people, with only 18 doctors, 24 nurses, 163 midwives, and 1 nutritionist.
• Access to Safe Water and Sanitation. According to NSCB statistics, only 60.4% have access to safe water in 2004, while only 43% have access to sanitary toilet. These are far below the national average of 85% for access to safe water, and 72% for access to sanitation facilities.
• Access to Land. Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), as of 2009, there are 77,688 hectares of land, mostly private agricultural lands, which has yet to be redistributed to landless farmers, farmworkers, and rural women. This is 54% of the remaining land acquisition and distribution (LAD) balance for ARMM, and which makes it second to the Negros island in terms of top provinces with highest number of lands to be redistributed under the program.
• Education. For school year 2004-2005, there are only 489 public elementary schools, and 38 public secondary schools. The teacher-pupil ratio (TPR) in primary education is 1:52, while the national average is 1:36, putting Maguindanao in the top 3 provinces with high TPR. For the classroom-pupil ratio (CPR), the province has 1:54 (78th in terms of ranking), while the cohort survival rate is only 38.2%, less than half of the national average, 63.6%. On the other hand, the public secondary school seemed to be better in terms of teacher-student ratio, with 1:47 (while the Philippine-level is 1:36). However, the classroom-student ratio of 1:62 (national average of 1:53), is much worse than its elementary counterpart.
• Human Development Index, HDI (see table 4). The HDI is a measure of human development, a “process of enlarging people’s choices, most critical of which are to lead a long and healthy life, to be educated and to enjoy a decent standard of living” conceptualized by the United Nations Development Programme in 1990. In 2000, Maguindanao was the 5th bottom province in terms of HDI, being only surpassed by 3 other ARMM provinces including Sulu (.351), Tawi-tawi (.39), Basilan (.425), and one province from the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ifugao (.461). From 1997 to 2000, the overall human development index of Maguindanao slighlt improved from .425 to .461 (from 75th rank to 73rd). Life expectancy is only 58.06 years, much lower than the national average of 69 years or a life expectancy index of .551 (vs. .732 for the Philippines); education index of .678 (when the national average is .84).
Table 1: Poverty Incidence Among Families, 2003 and 2006
|
Country/Province/ Region |
Poverty Incidence Among Families in % 2000 |
Poverty Incidence Among Families in % 2003 |
Poverty Incidence Among Families in % 2006 |
| Philippines |
27.5 |
24.4 |
26.9 |
| ARMM |
53.8 |
45.4 |
55.3 |
| Maguindanao |
59.3 |
60.4 |
62.0 |
Source: National Statistical and Coordination Board
Table 2: Annual Per Capita Food Threshold and Subsistence Incidence (2000, 2003, 2006)
|
Region/Province |
Annual Per Capita Food Threshold in Pesos |
Subsistence Incidence among Families in % |
|||||
|
|
2000 |
2003 |
2006 |
2000 |
2003 |
2006 |
|
| Philippines |
7,707 |
8,149 |
10,025 |
12.3 |
10.2 |
11.0 |
|
| ARMM |
8,313 |
8,730 |
10,318 |
23.9 |
18.2 |
22.5 |
|
| Maguindanao |
8,242 |
8,496 |
10,190 |
35.1 |
30.0 |
27.3 |
|
Source: National Statistical and Coordination Board
Table 3: Labor and Employment-Philippines and ARMM, 2002
|
APRIL 2002 LABOR FORCE (In Thousands) |
|||||||||
| Province | |||||||||
|
Employed |
Un- employed |
Total |
Employ-ment Rate |
Unemploy-ment Rate |
Visible Under- employment |
||||
|
% |
Rank |
% |
Rank |
% |
Rank |
||||
| PHILIPPINES |
30,186 |
4,866 |
35,052 |
86.1 |
|
13.9 |
|
12.5 |
|
| ARMM |
959 |
92 |
1,051 |
90.9 |
|
9.1 |
|
4.2 |
|
| Basilan |
101 |
21 |
122 |
82.5 |
71 |
17.5 |
8 |
4.2 |
65 |
| Lanao del Sur |
227 |
30 |
257 |
88.2 |
48 |
11.8 |
28 |
0.3 |
77 |
| Maguindanao |
337 |
29 |
366 |
92.0 |
24 |
8.0 |
53 |
13.5 |
29 |
| Sulu |
175 |
7 |
182 |
96.2 |
5 |
3.8 |
73 |
2.4 |
71 |
| Tawi-Tawi |
119 |
5 |
124 |
95.8 |
6 |
4.2 |
72 |
0.7 |
76 |
| Source: NSCB, Countryside in Figures, 2006 | |||||||||
Source: http://www.i-site.ph/povertyaudit/?page_id=251
Table 4: Human Development Index, 1997 and 2000 – Maguindanao
|
Human Development Index, 1997 and 2000 |
|||||||||||
| Province |
1997 |
2000 |
|||||||||
|
HDI |
Rank |
Life Expectancy |
Education |
Income |
HDI |
Rank |
|||||
|
Level (in years) |
Index |
Combined Enrolment |
Functional Literacy |
Index |
Real Per Capita |
Index |
|||||
| Maguindanao |
0.425 |
75 |
58.06 |
0.551 |
65.89 |
68.71 |
0.678 |
11,864 |
0.154 |
0.461 |
73 |
| Source: NSCB, Countryside in Figures, 2006 | |||||||||||
Source: http://www.i-site.ph/povertyaudit/?page_id=243
(Published in Focus on the Philippines December 2009: http://focusweb.org/oldphilippines/content/view/367/52/)