Sooooooo Sloooooooow...

Mon, 02 Jul 2007

THE winner of the 12th and last Senate seat will likely be known today, when the Commission on Elections finally completes the canvass of the remaining votes in the May 14 elections.



Until now July 4th, the 12th seat remains unknown.

Anyway, I guess there is really no way to improve the poverty percentage here in the Philippines. and I hope that, somebody can prove me wrong. here is an article from gma.tv

Think an average Filipino family can live off P204 a day? Government experts think so, but militants and impoverished Filipinos interviewed by GMA News said the amount was a tiny drop in the bucket.

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the country's policy-making and organizational agency on statistical matters, said a family of five would need this amount – or P6,120 a month – to meet minimum basic needs.

The NSCB study also showed that families living in Metro Manila need to earn more to satisfy food and non-food basic needs.

The poverty threshold in Metro Manila rose by 5.4 percent, meaning a family of five members to earn P275 a day or P8,254 a month.

Renato Reyes, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the government was using these statistics as alleged proof that the country's level of poverty was not worsening.

"Try living under a monthly salary of P8,000 and let us see if you can live a decent life," Reyes told GMA News in Filipino.

In the Philippines, a low-priced rice meal at the leading fast-food restaurant costs about P64 a customer. Gasoline prices are pegged at about P34-37 a liter.

A ticket to the movies, which Filipinos adore as their escape mechanism, sells for about P160 a patron at leading cinemas in Metro Manila.

Salvador Burgos, a factory worker who earns P9,000 a month, is no stranger to belt-tightening measures at his shanty home in Metro Manila.

"If you are not that hungry, it would be better to skip a meal to avoid running short," he said.

The Burgos family thinks the numbers are unrealistic and considers lower food prices as a true reflection of better living conditions in the Philippines.

"Food prices should be slashed a little so it won't be too difficult," Salvador's wife Lorna said in Filipino. - GMANews.TV


God help them and us.