Poor understanding

Before it got all the flak for declaring that no less than P64 per person per day would suffice for one to be called “non-food poor,” the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) should have at least tried living on P64 for three whole meals even for just one day.

That is essentially the message that most people who reacted to that piece of news wanted to put across.

Because what can one buy with P64? A boiled egg and pandesal for breakfast with three-in-one coffee, and for lunch and dinner…what?

I used to subsist on crackers and coffee when my monthly allowance ran out back when I was in college. I was living in a dormitory and receiving my monthly stipend from my parents who were, at the time, also putting my siblings through school.

I didn’t want to add to their worries or financial obligations, so I never asked for extra funds when my money ran out. I mean, college is college and I had a life! So I took part-time work at the university instead, but since that wasn’t always available, I would have those days of crackers and coffee to see me through.

I recall those days now with some gratitude because I think they honed in me that desire to succeed, but also to do so without ever losing one’s values. I could have demanded more money, but I learned to work for it. I could have felt sorry for myself, but I thought it was just a phase — things will be better in the end.

So this thing about subsisting on P64? Government surveys, the news said, peg this amount as the monthly threshold for a family of five — at P9,581 or P64 per person daily.

I come from a big family and hold my mother on a pedestal for running a household of six kids. I mean, we were far from “food poor” as we had monthly supplies from crops and rice fields our parents owned, but I know that multiple people in a family have different needs and wants and cravings for food.

That’s not even talking about nutritional needs. According to experts, P64 is not enough to supply the nutritional needs of one person. Does one even need the validation of experts to know this?

The whole point of this rambling exercise is that people — especially those in leadership roles — have to verify their facts before they make conclusions.

As a GMA Network report went: “…the Philippine Statistics Authority said the amount was arrived at after costing the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner that will give the required energy and nutrients, as prepared by a nutritionist.”

“The agency’s sample food bundle, composed of three meals, includes a scrambled egg, coffee with milk and boiled rice or rice-corn mix for breakfast; boiled monggo or mung beans with malunggay (moringa) and dried dilis (anchovy), banana and boiled rice or corn mix for lunch; fried fish or boiled pork, a vegetable dish, and boiled rice or corn mix for dinner; and bread or boiled root crop for snacks.”

How much of this was based on real prices today, however, remains to be seen.