A CANDIDATE’S DIARY, DAY 26: COTABATO 11TH POOREST PROVINCE

Wednesday, April 24, was a depressing day for me.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer published a report on the survey conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) identifying North Cotabato as one of the 16 poorest provinces in the Philippines.

The NSCB, a government agency which monitors all statistical indicators on governance, the economy, education, poverty and others, ranked our province as the 11th poorest.

The news was like a knife thrust into my heart as a leader of the province because I worked hard during my time to improve the economy of the province.

When I became Governor in 1998, the NSCB listed North Cotabato as No. 5 among the 10 poorest provinces in the country in the company of Zamboanga del Norte, Northern Samar, Maguindanao and Saranggani among others.

The Poverty Incidence Per Family (PIPF) was at 52%, meaning 52 families out of every 100 earned less than P14,000 annually.

With a governance focused on rural development and job generation, however, North Cotabato was able to get out of that ignominious club of the poorest provinces.

When I left office in 2007, North Cotabato was ranked No. 27 among the 30 Most Progressive Provinces in the Philippines with the Poverty Indicator reduced to only 22%. This rose slightly to 24.4 in 2009, two years after I left office.

We were also ranked No. 10 in Economic Governance.

Today, North Cotabato is back to the category of one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.

Here is a message which I received from my daughter, Dr. Maria Krista Pinol-Solis about the depressing news:

“TO ALL NORTH COTABATeños, here’s the latest statistics as of April 23, 2013:

“1) North Cotabato is the 11th poorest province in the Philippines as of 1st sem 2012.

“2) Poverty incidence increased from 24.4% (year 2009) to 43.9% (year 2012).

“3) In just a matter of 3 years, the number of poor families increased to 20%.

“4) This study was done by the NATIONAL Statistical Coordination Board (which means it’s much more powerful than hearsay evidences).

“It’s perfect timing that they showed these statistics 20 days before the election on May 13, 2013.

“I encourage all the people of North Cotabato (and all the Filipino voters) to think carefully about the political leaders that you’ll choose.

“Ask questions, investigate and research on these politicians. What happened to the province while they were in the position? Did North Cotabato prosper or become poorer?

“Let’s base our decisions on facts & hard evidences. Smart and educated Filipinos, please vote wisely!”