Letter from Tina

June 26, 2002

Dear Bernie

How are you, I hope your fine and in good condition while receiving my letters.

Thank you for your trust, being my friend and giving me a chance to be your joint account partner.

Your shoes, face towel and a mug from Mike I put in a safe place so that if you return in the Philippines I can give it to you.

I'm happy because I'm very much appreciate while I received a withdrawal from Joe that you request him to put my name in the withdrawal form, thank you for that.

Sorry to know that while you are in Manila getting a picture of "tuli" in QC [Quezon City] you got a problem there, I'm wish[ing] I was there so that I can defend you - . . . just allowing them to get a picture, like what I did in the Cailles General Hospital in Pangil.

By the way, how is your health? I hope you [are] taking your medicine, specially your medicine in high blood.

About Mel: don't worry about him. He is okay living with Nanay Josie, about the allowance you [have] given, he is the one who manage[s] it with the help of Anagel.

Now Nanay Josie was working in Fereras [fast food cafe] but she still want[s] to go abroad.

About Mac-mac: he is okay for now with cement on his [broken] arm. The doctor will check Mac-mac['s] arm on the 1st Sat[urday] of the month of July, to know if it is okay and back to normal.

I never put a[ny] excess money on our savings, I decide to give to Mac-mac for his school supply because he don't have any school supply that time, I hope you understand.

Sorry Bern, I cannot put money in our saving this past few weeks because Jovs was sick sometimes, he cannot go for work, so I use the money from the shop for our daily expenses and also for buying medicine for him. I hope you understand our situation.

Take care always,

Your Friend,

Tina.

Poverty and social inequality in the Philippines

Philip Gerson

Excerpt from "Poverty and Economic Policy in the Philippines," Finance & Development, A quarterly magazine of the IMF, September 1998, Volume 35, Number 3.

The incidence of poverty in the Philippines was not unusually high in the early 1970s, compared with a representative sample of Asian countries . . . but very slow subsequent progress in reducing the rate of poverty meant that by the early 1990s, the poverty rate was dramatically higher in the Philippines than in its neighbors. . . . In addition, income distribution in the Philippines, as measured by the Gini coefficient (a ratio of income inequality, with 0 representing absolute equality and 1 representing absolute inequality), is extremely unequal. Moreover, the Gini coefficient barely changed during 1957–94, varying only between 0.45 and 0.51. . . In 1994, the richest 20 percent of the population received 52 percent of the country's total income, nearly 11 times the share of the poorest 20 percent. These figures had changed little since the 1980s and had even become slightly worse: in 1985, the richest 20 percent of the population received the same share of national income as in 1994 and their average income was about 10 times that of the poorest 20 percent. The distribution of assets has also shown little improvement over the last few decades. Between 1960 and 1990, for example, the Gini coefficient on landholding worsened slightly.

Source: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/1998/09/gerson.htm