Economic Activities of Participants

Job employments are categorized according to whether the participant is employed in

public, private or self-employed. The public sector contain jobs in the government department or
agency, may it be in service or financial area. The private sector includes the food industry,
service, entertainment, manufacturing/industrial, retail and other industries and or businesses
owned privately. The self-employed jobs include generating income directly from customers,
clients or other organizations as opposed to being an employee of a business or person.

As shown in Figure, participants in Progreso Village Relocation Site I was able to answer
whether they were employed in public, private or self-employed. Most of the participants with
249 (51%) of the population answered that they are employed in private. These jobs relate to the
employment they had before they were relocated for they had no choice but to go back to their
previous jobs similar to working in retail stores, food industry, manufacturing and the like.
According to Calaunan(2013), the accessibility of the place towards the settlers occupation,
access to amenities and adjustment with their daily activities and lifestyle in order to cope up
with these changes are often the problems that the settlers are facing. On the other hand, most of
the head of the households also engaged in tricycle, jeep or any service driving owned by private
individuals.

The second most answered employment sector by the participants, was the self-employed
with 204 (41%) of the population in view of the fact that people in the community are free to
establish any kind of business that could suit the availability of their resources agreed upon that
they are not allowed to put up businesses such as piggery, poultry and any other businesses that
are prohibited in the site. They own businesses such as sari-sari stores which surfaces pure
competition among them. The researchers suppose that it is hard for them to engage in other
different businesses since they lack facilities and training. On the other hand, a good number of
the participants were also engaged in services such as laundry, manicure, pedicure, etc. and

There were only a few who are publicly employed with 41 (8%) of the population,
considering the educational attainment of the participants and given the fact that in order to work
in a public industry, you have to pass the civil service exam and attain a specific level of
education.
 Thus, the government should not only give different livelihood trainings to the people in
the community but also establish a project, business or industry in which they can apply the
trainings conducted and be able to generate income from such activities.

8%
Public
41%
Self-Employed

51%
Private n= 474

Figure : Participant's primary job

Figure, depicts the monthly income of the income earners in the households of Progreso
Village Relocation Site I. The highest frequency of monthly income in Progreso Village
Relocation Site I ranging P3, 001-P6, 000 consists of 158 (32%) of the population, followed by a
monthly income ranging P0-P3, 000 with 151 (31%) of the population. Most of their income was
in the lower range because most of the households are being compensated below the minimum
wage rate and most of them are not engaged in regular jobs since according to DOLE (2013),
minimum wage ranges from P235-P277 depending upon the type of sector or industry. Based on,
Family Income and Expenditure Survey (Virola, 2009), Region VI or the Western Visayas
Region have the one-fifth of families with income belonging in the bottom 30% of the
population. The researchers also considered the participants nature of employment, their
educational attainment and maybe they have not engaged in any secondary job for additional
income.
There were 110 (22%) of the participants with monthly income ranging P6, 001-P9, 000
and 43 (9%) for P9, 001-P12, 000. The researchers consider that these are the households with
jobs whose remuneration is fair. The monthly income ranging P12, 001-P15, 000 and P18, 001-
P21, 000 was answered by the lowest number of participants with 6 (1%) of the population.
These households were considered to value initiative and were deemed to have engaged in
secondary jobs for extra earnings.
There are certain households 7 (1%) who have monthly income beyond P21, 000. The
researchers presume that these are households who receive allotment from relatives abroad,
households that are already established from the time they were relocated and were engaged in
businesses, income earners who have high educational attainment and have been compensated
reasonably or they have been receiving help from their relatives or friends.
Some of the participants may want to keep their incomes confidential. They take hold of
the confidentiality in this matter. There are also a few households who are only dependent to the
4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) of the government and the pensions they receive
monthly.

P21,000 and above 1%

P18,001-P21,000 1%

P15,001-P18,000 3%
n= 494

P12,001-P15,000 1%

P9,001-P12,000 9%

P6,001-P9,000 22%

P3,001-P6,000 32%

P0-P3,000 31%

0 50 100 150 200

Figure : Participant's primary mothly income

As shown in Figure, the most number of participants answered Self-employed as their

secondary job with 11 (79%) of the population. There were only 2 (14%) in private and 1(7%) in
public. The researchers assume that the participants tend to have secondary jobs that cater their
convenience and that can generate income directly to their customer or clients parallel to giving
services to other people, getting engaged into different businesses and many other income
generating activities that can easily engender earnings. The private employment includes jobs
from privately owned businesses or industries like working as a service crew, manager, saleslady
and the like. The public employment include jobs in the government offices like being a
government employee, teacher, BIR employee and other jobs in different government
departments.

The researchers also relate the results to the initiative of the participants to earn as much
as they could for their family for people in the community do not tend to look for other income
generating activity to suffice their needs since there are only a few who have responded that they
have secondary jobs. Moreover, it can be seen that most of the households are already contented
with what they earn monthly for their family. Alternatively, households may also lack the
resources and time to look for secondary jobs.
7%
Public 14%
Private

79%
Self-Employed
n= 14

Figure : Participant's secondary job

The Figure, represents the income earned by the participants in their secondary jobs. The
results were quite properly distributed since there is only a small difference for every range of
monthly income. There were 4 (29%) who answered that they gained P1, 001-P2, 000 for their
secondary income followed by 3 (21%) for both P1, 000 and below and P2, 001-P3, 000 and the
least who responded 2 (14%) in monthly income ranging P3, 001-P4, 000 and P4, 001-P5, 000.

The researchers suppose that those households who engage in secondary jobs do not
settle for high compensation as their secondary income, considering their educational attainment
and their resources.

P4,001-P5,000 14%
n= 14
P3,001-P4,000 14%

P2,001-P3,000 21%

P1,001-P2,000 29%

P0-P1,000 21%

0 1 2 3 4 5
Spending Patterns of the Participants

In the graph is the average monthly expenses of a regular family residing at the relocation
site. Topping them is food, which amounts to P4, 062.30 or 35% of the regular income of a
family and education (matriculation fees, allowance for family member studying away from
home, books, school supplies) amounting to P1, 527. 80 or 13%. According to Abraham Maslow
and his Hierarchy of Needs, physiological needs must be met first that is why food takes the
largest share in the family income. Education comes next because according to the respondents,
it is the only thing they can inherit to their children. Elementary school is just nearby while high
school is too far that is why majority of the budget allocated for education is consumed by
transportation of the students.

Non-durable (dinnerware, glassware, silverware, kitchen utensils, mosquito net, pillow

and pillow cases) and durable housing (refrigerator, cooking range or stove, washing machine,
television, cassette recorder and electric fan ) shares 10% and 7% respectively. Respondents in
the relocation site are concerned with the appearance of their houses. Some of these houses
interviewed were not able to send their students to high school or college but their houses are too
good to look at.

Due to the distance of the site from workplace, transportation took 6% of the monthly
income. This transportation expense (bus, jeepney, tricycle, gasoline or diesel) is utilized by the
household heads who go to work. Clothing (clothing and ready-made apparel, footwear, sewing
materials, accessories and service fees), house maintenance (carpentry materials, electrical
materials, masonry, paint, plumbing materials) and light (electricity, candle, oils) exploit 4% of
the total monthly income. Fuel and charcoal (charcoal, firewood, LPG, kerosene/gas) , water,
medical care (drugs & medicines, hospital room charges, medical and dental charges, other
medical goods and supplies) and other expenses (life insurance and retirement premiums, SSS,
GSIS, losses due to fire and theft, legal fees, membership fees, medicare, pre-need plan and
etcetera) consumes 3%, communication (telephone bills, cellphone load, internet connection) and
recreation, 2% and rent 0% since all of them own the land.
 5000
4062.3
4000
3000
2000
1527.8 1173.33
1000 368.93 514.43 378.69 687.67 221.61 368.71 869.57
0 489.02 285.64 427.8 398.8
0
1

Food Fuel and Charcoal Light Water

Transportation Communication Rent Clothing
Education Recreational Activities Medical Care Non-Durable Furnishing
Durable Furnishing House Maintenance Others

Figure : Spending Patterns

Economic Coping Mechanism of the Participants

In the given data, residents of Progreso Village Relocation Site 1 usually change their
consumption patterns, adjusting to the change of residence, garnering a total of 44% of the
population. This means that among the three coping mechanisms developed by Fiszbein,
Giovagnoli and Thurston, adaptive household strategies is dominant in the relocation site. This
strategy requires the household to respond to the crisis by changing consumption patterns
including the various type of service. It is evident that the settlers are still in their adjustment
period.

Bread winners of the family also work for longer hours which composed a total of 37%,
the family also spend the allotted savings, if ever they have, 8% of them, and selling of personal
assets, with 5% of them, and engaging to business ventures, 2%, which helped them survive
from the daily expenses of the household. These four strategies belongs to the active household
strategies. The residents involve the incremental use of physical, financial and human assets
available to them including this four strategies. This means that after the residents have already
adjusted their consumption pattern, they maximize whatever is available just to make money out
of it. According to the respondents interviewed during the focus group discussion, when they
have transferred to the relocation site, they have exploited themselves and they aged faster. Due
to the expensiveness of transportation, food and water because of their distance from the city,
working longer hours is their last resort considering majority of them are minimum wage
earners.

Table : Economic coping mechanisms (n=330)

Variable Frequency Percent

Changing consumption patterns 205 44%
Working longer hours/ over time 173 37%
Spending allotted savings 40 8%
Selling of personal assets 25 5%
Budgeting of money 19 4%
Build business 8 2%
Total 470 100%

It is a need for the residents to comply with the basic needs and minimum wage cannot
compensate the number of mouths to be fed by the family, averaging to four to six children per
family. Financial assistance is indeed a need, with majority answered yes, 95%, and only 5%
answered no. Financial assistance is the third coping mechanism, named as social network
strategy. They have to rely to assistance from friends, family, non-government organizations or
the government.
 Yes No

5%

95%

Figure : Financial Assistance (n=330)

The table shows the following support services the respondents run to whenever they are
in dire need of finances. It shows that 46% of the respondents have borrowings. Their creditors
are mostly lending institutions, or the informal term 56. People are aware of the consequences
when they borrow but this keeps them to survive. Most small businesses (e.g. sari-sari store) get
their capital from these creditors with corresponding interest imposed. According to our focus
group discussion, they have no choice but to borrow because they simply have to. They have no
relatives to help them.

Family really matters to Filipinos that is why 40% of the respondents are still supported
by their family. The help came from their families with higher income and some are just a
product of combined forces of families, helping and supporting each other just to survive. Public
or government assistance composed 13% of the population. This is in the form of the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Residents are happy that at least in small amounts, they can
somehow give their children the right nutrition and educational materials. Pension also played a
great role among the senior citizens. Only 1% of them have pension they can rely.
Table : Support Services (n=330)

Variable Frequency Percent

Borrowings 227 46%
Support from family 200 40%
Public Assistance 64 13%
Pension 5 1%
Total 496 100%