(The Philippine Star)


MANILA, Philippines - The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) remains the poorest in terms of average family income, said a latest survey released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

The 2009 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), which the NSCB regional office publicized recently, showed that ARMM had the lowest family income at P113,000, not even half of the P356,000 income which families in Metro Manila earned during the period.

In 2006, annual average family income in the ARMM was P89,000, also the lowest among Philippine regions, data showed.

Families in Metro Manila had the highest income among the country’s 17 regions. The top five regions with highest annual family income came from Luzon.

For Central Mindanao (Region 12), Herlita Caraan, regional NSCB chief, said the annual average family income was at P154,000, third among Mindanao’s six regions.

This represents an increase of 35.1 percent over their incomes three years ago. In 2006, the average income of families in Region 12 was P114,000, she added.

Among the Mindanao regions, Southern Mindanao (Region 11) posted the highest average family income at P166,000, followed closely by Northern Mindanao (Region 10) with P165,000, SOCCSKSARGEN, Caraga (Region 13) with P149,000 and Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) with P144,000.

The FIES is a nationwide survey conducted by the National Statistics Office every three years. It is the main source of data on family income and expenditures which include levels of consumption by item of expenditure as well as sources of income be it in cash or in kind. - PNA