List of 20 Poorest Provinces

The Special Area for Agricultural Development Program (SAAD) of the Department of Agriculture targets 10 Poorest Provinces in the country every year for additional anti-poverty and productivity interventions.

Every year, 10 more provinces are added and by the end of the term of President Rody Duterte, 60 Provinces would be covered.

The aim is to reduce poverty incidence by 25%.

What are the 20 Poorest Provinces?

Here is a link to: https://news.abs-cbn.com/…/what-are-the-20-poorest…

Number 1 – Lanao del Sur with 74.3% of families living below poverty threshold.

Number 2 is Sulu with 65.7% while the three provinces in the island of Samar are all in the list with Western Samar No. 14 at 49.5%, Eastern Samar No. 12/11 with 50% and Northern Samar No. 4 with 61.6%.

Surprisingly and sadly, my home province, North Cotabato, which in 2006 was listed as one of the 30 Most Progressive Provinces with a very high Human Development Index is in the list of the 20 Poorest Provinces with 48.9%.

North Cotabato had a Poverty Incidence of only 29% in 2010, a huge improvement from 52% in 1998 when I became Governor.

How it slid back to the ignominious group of 20 Poorest provinces would be a very good case study on the correlation of politics, governance and rural poverty.

Ironically, the leaders who presided over the deterioration of the poverty level in my province are the very same people who are now accusing me of using the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD), an anti-poverty and productivity program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), to gain political benefits for my daughter, Dr. Maria Krista Piñol-Solis who is running for Board Member, and my other siblings.

I could only squirm at this great irony.

If only North Cotabato did not backslide from one of the Most Progressive Provinces to one of the Poorest Provinces, there would be no need for the SAAD Program.

And may I ask who should be blamed for this?

They are the people who are trying to block the implementation of a program which would lift up my province to its old glory as one of the most progressive provinces in the country.

#StopThisCrabMentality!

#TulongTulongParaUmunlad!