CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (September 29, 2025) — Despite being known as the “fruit basket of Mindanao,” Bukidnon has the highest poverty incidence in the region, together with Lanao del Norte, according to the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that Bukidnon led all provinces in agriculture and fisheries output in 2023 and 2024, contributing 6.8 percent of the country’s total production by value.

NAPC Regional Coordinator Cecilia Cabusas said the contrast highlights the deep-seated inequality in the province.

“Malaki ang disparity, maraming farms but they are commercial farms (There is a big disparity. There are many farms but they are commercial farms),” she explained, pointing out that most small farmers do not own the land they till.

While national poverty incidence fell by 2.6 percentage points in recent years, NAPC’s small area estimates showed that poverty incidence in several municipalities of Bukidnon went up instead of down.

Cabusas noted that climatic disturbances continue to push vulnerable families back into hardship.

“Yung iba makakatawid na pero konting problema sa pamilya bababa [ang financial status] nanaman,” she said adding that a family barely moving out of poverty is often forced to “start over” when confronted with unexpected crises.

Under the Magna Carta of the Poor (Republic Act No. 11291), the state is mandated to guarantee every Filipino’s right to food, work, education, housing, and health.

NAPC Commissioner Lope Santos III reports that over 600 billion pesos have been allocated for anti-poverty programs encompassing agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

However, Santos acknowledged that unless local governments are given a bigger role in managing these funds, national anti-poverty programs risk remaining too centralized and detached from the realities in communities.

NAPC has proposed that a portion of the budget be turned over to LGUs to directly support local poverty-reduction plans— a move they say could better test whether the Magna Carta’s promises are actually being felt on the ground. (Henniequel Shayne Acobo/MindaNews)