poverty in the philippines due to covid essay

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COVID-19 Impacts on Low Income Families in the Philippines

At the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Philippine government introduced a large-scale social protection program while placing the country on strict community quarantine. With the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the government provided emergency subsidies under the Social Amelioration Program or SAP.

Some 18 million poor and vulnerable households, comprising 70 percent of the population, were covered by the program. SAP beneficiaries included the 4.4 million households enrolled in the country’s flagship safety net program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps or Pantawid), together with other vulnerable populations such as informal workers.

The COVID-19 Low Income Household Panel and Economic (HOPE) survey is a series of surveys that investigated the conditions of low-income households during the pandemic and the impact of the government’s social protection programs.  Using data from the same set of sample 4Ps households and non-4Ps low-income households, traced from December 2019 through October 2020, the COVID-19 Low income HOPE survey monitored people’s income and employment, food security, health, and education. It also assessed the role of social protection programs.

The survey was conducted by the World Bank and supported by the Australian Government. Results will be made available on this website for public use. 

Methodology

The COVID-19 Low Income HOPE survey comprised five rounds of panel surveys that yielded waves of panel data. The first survey, called Wave 0, was done in-person in December 2019, in collaboration with the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab . Wave 1 was conducted over the phone in April 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 community quarantine; the same with Wave 2 in June, Wave 3 in August, and Wave 4 in October.

The samples were composed of 580 low income households, and 1,614 adult individuals from the sample households with a modest attrition over time. The samples were taken from an already-constructed set of 4Ps and comparable non-4Ps households that were used in previous impact evaluation studies of the 4Ps program. The data have a nationwide coverage of low income households, and when compared with the low income households in the nationally-representative Family and Income Expenditure Survey (FIES) 2018, they adequately capture the characteristics of poor and near poor populations of the country.

COVID-19 High-Frequency Monitoring Dashboard

Social Protection Policy Notes

Blog: Realizing the “transformational trilogy” of social protection delivery in the Philippines

Image Design by Michelle Elinor Lomibao/World Bank

Photo by Louise Infante / Shutterstock.com

Survey Results

• Waves 0-1 (Dec 2019, Apr 2020) Infographic (Apr 2020)
• Waves 0-3 (up to Jun, Aug 2020)
• Waves 0-4 (up to Oct 2020) Infographic (October 2020)

How COVID-19 impacted vulnerable communities in the Philippines

Ditte fallesen.

When people around the world started to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-2020, the World Bank launched COVID-19 surveys to monitor the social and economic impacts of the pandemic on communities.   In the Philippines, the community survey conducted in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), provided important insights on how best to deliver pandemic response and recovery programs aimed at supporting the poorest and most vulnerable rural communities. Respondents included community volunteers and barangay (village) officials from some of the poorest communities identified through the country’s existing national community-driven development project . 

In August 2020, the first round of the community survey had 180 respondents representing 101 barangays. The second round in April 2021 had 200 respondents from 135 barangays across the three main group of islands—Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.  

Using a standard questionnaire developed to capture the community’s socio-economic conditions, respondents were asked to share their views on the situation in their communities. These results reflect the general observations of community leaders based on their perception and knowledge of their respective communities.  

Economic impact on communities  

COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on rural livelihoods. Loss of income and job opportunities were overarching challenges in poor communities in the Philippines.     Disaster-prone communities experienced more difficulties in coping with COVID-19 restrictions and its severe economic impact. Results show the most pressing problems before and during COVID-19 were: 

• Lack of income opportunities and reduction of pay were pre-existing challenges but had worsened significantly due to the pandemic.  
• During the pandemic, communities reported continued insufficient food supply and health, sanitation, and nutrition issues.  

The economic impact of COVID-19 is particularly worrisome as the surveyed communities are already a subset of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Philippines. Following significant job and income losses, communities are at risk of further increases in poverty. 

In August 2020 , job losses were particularly severe in the construction sector (56%) and public transportation (52%) while cumulative job losses were seen among informal workers such as laundry women, hairdressers, and workers in small canteens; and in informal retail like “ sari-sari ” stores , street vendors, and markets. The farming sector also saw significant job losses reportedly in 70% of communities in formal agriculture and 61% in small-scale farming.  

The situation had somewhat improved by the second round of the survey in April 2021. The sector that saw the biggest improvements was retail, where reported incidence of job losses decreased by 13%. However, construction workers and public transport drivers continued to be most affected by job cuts (56% and 52% respectively). 

Social cohesion 

Seventy-four percent (74%) of communities did not observe any peace and order problems such as theft, crime, arguments, and community-level conflict because of COVID-19.  However, there was an increase in peace and order problems when the second round of the survey was carried out. This seemed to be mainly caused by loss of employment. While cases of COVID-related discrimination similarly increased, there was no increase in sexual harassment, rape, and domestic violence according to respondents. However, findings from an independent conflict monitoring system ( Conflict Alert ) covering a smaller area of the Philippines, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao suggests there may be more vulnerable communities . The Conflict Alert data , based on police and media reports, reveals a significant increase in gender-based violence during the periods of strict COVID lockdown. 

Gender and women’s roles 

Half of the respondents found that women and men were equally affected by job and income losses, while 29% found that women were more affected. Women were also identified as one of the groups most in need of assistance because of COVID-19.  

Health and vaccine concerns 

In the Philippines, access to health care during the pandemic remained consistent, though a main challenge was the lack of medical supplies and PPEs, especially in the early phase. 

The survey finds that there was significant concern about vaccine safety (86%) and effectiveness (60%). Vaccine hesitancy was hampering the rollout of the vaccines in the country. Communities mainly trust doctors and health practitioners for information on vaccines. Though the respondents knew vaccines could prevent COVID-19, they were aware that health and risk mitigation protocols were still needed. While respondents generally found the government-issued rules and restrictions appropriate, they suggested that local governments should be more stringent and consistent in the enforcement of these health-related protocols. Vaccine hesitancy continues to be a challenge in the Philippines, and further analysis is being initiated to identify key incentives and constructive messaging. 

The results of the community survey, along with the firm and household surveys, were shared with the Philippine government and other stakeholders. Future rounds will strengthen the validity of results and will provide an opportunity for focusing on additional sub-themes, including gender and coping strategies, or new themes that emerge as relevant.  

The survey clearly highlights how poor and vulnerable rural communities are affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. Going forward, we hope that the valuable insights into the situation and perceptions of the communities can help inform target policies as well as response and recovery programs.    

Learn more about the surveys monitoring COVID-19 impacts on families and firms in the Philippines: http://www.worldbank.org/philippines/covidmonitor  

Through additional financing for the Kalahi-CIDSS National Community Driven Development Project , the World Bank is supporting early recovery of rural poor communities from the pandemic. The Philippine government will undertake community-driven development projects that promote inclusive service provision and support economic recovery, such as cash-for-work programs and local economic development activities using the project’s Disaster Risk Operations Modality.  

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• East Asia and Pacific
• COVID-19 (coronavirus)

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PH among countries to see an increase in extreme poverty due to COVID-19

In an article studying the impact of COVID-19 on global extreme poverty, Brookings compared the changes in poverty before and during the pandemic, noting that a total of 650 million people were thought to be in extreme poverty in 2019.

It found that poverty in the country this year could rise by 120 million individuals.

Before COVID-19, over 621 million people were estimated to live in extreme poverty.

However, due to the pandemic’s impact on economic growth, the projection was raised to almost 767 million people.

“Compared to the baseline path for poverty, the 2020 figure is 144 million people higher. Some of this will be offset as economies start to recover in 2021, but the longer-term scenario suggests that half of the rise in poverty could be permanent. By 2030, the poverty numbers could still be higher than the baseline by 60 million people,” said Brookings.

The U.S.-based think tank also listed the top 10 countries where extreme poverty is likely to rise the most in 2020, with India ranking as the country that will see the biggest increase with 140 million people.

“Far and away the biggest impact is likely to be felt in India. India is a particular case in having a large number of highly vulnerable people, only recently escaped from poverty, coupled with a very significant expected fall in economic growth,” Brookings noted.

“India’s per capita growth rate for 2020 has been revised downwards to about -11 percent this year, one of the deepest recessions in the world. This has sharply altered its poverty trajectory that had been trending downwards,” it added.

The Philippines, meanwhile, ranked sixth, with almost 10 million people.

Below is the complete list of ranking by Brookings:

1. India 2. Nigeria 3. Democratic Republic of the Congo 4. Bangladesh 5. Ethiopia 6. Philippines 7. Mali 8. Kenya 9. Venezuela 10. Burkina Faso

“COVID-19 is widely viewed as a temporary shock to economic growth, and indeed the experience of China, which has had a sharp V-shaped recession and recovery, shows this could be the case,” Brookings said.

“For the majority of countries, however, the economic damage could be more long-lasting, and this is the real risk to families that have been pushed below the poverty line,” it added.

Brookings’ calculations were based on the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook October as well as the World Bank’s Povcal data.

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1.5M Filipinos seen sliding back to poverty due to COVID-19

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