Earlier in 2019, the proportion of self-rated poor families was 38 percent in March and 45 percent in June. The remaining 40 percent percent or 9.7 million families have never considered themselves as poor (“always non-poor”). Moreover, 10 percent or 2.6 million families used to be non-poor one to four years ago (“newly poor”), and 15 percent (3.7 million households) used to be non-poor five or more years ago (“usually poor”), while 21 percent (5 million families) have always considered themselves as poor (“always poor”). The median SRP threshold is what the poorer half of the poor need for home expenses in order not to be poor. In the past, the median SRP gap has generally been half of the median SRP threshold.

Source: Manila Times January 23, 2020 11:48 UTC