BENGUET Provincial Board Member Concepcion Balao, head of Committee on Social Services, said an active Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) has helped maintain a low poverty incidence in the province.
Balao said the government is giving much importance to their plans and programs such as education, health, nutrition, livelihood, and environment in order to maintain the lowest possible proportion of poor residents in the area.
“Lahat kasi sila nagtatrabaho. Wala kang makikitang namamalimos dito. Agtrabaho da para ti kanen da,” Balao said.
As a result, the province of Benguet was cited for giving emphasis to sectors like education, health, environment, tourism, and peace and order.
Based on the 2012 Small Area Estimates of poverty released by PSA, the least poor municipalities, are La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay (Blistt).
Based on latest studies, Cordillera Administrative Region’s poverty incidence among families during the first semester of 2015 has decreased by two percent at 26.7 percent compared to 28.7 percent during the same period in 2012.
The decrease was the result of the intensified anti-poverty intervention efforts of the government and its partners over the last five years, Balao said.
Balao said trainings and assistance to the residents of the province as well as emphasizing its focus on family are also some of the reasons why the province still maintains its improvement in the quality of life among its municipalities.
The province has an extensive highland agriculture, where in farming is the primary source of livelihood for the people.
At present, the province still holds 80 percent of vegetable market inputs nationwide, with highland produce easily supplying the needs of lowland areas all year round, as well as a center point for strawberry and flower production. (With reports from Sharmie Sannadan, University of Baguio intern)