IX. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
9.6 Current socio-economic situation of the Batak
9.6.1 Sources and estimated household income range
Among the respondents who have stable sources of income are the three respondents who are under the barangay LGU with monthly income range of Php8,500.00-11,000.00, and the four respondents who are currently employed by the City Government through the City Tourism Office as cultural workers at the Batak
C P B P C N C H 39
Visitor Center, and City Environment and Natural Resources Office as patroller in CNCH, with similar monthly income range (Figure 6).
Figure 6
Source and estimated income range of the respondents
This does not mean however that they are not engaged in other work because admittedly, whatever they presently earn, only two of the seven respondents have income that they believe is sufficient for their household. However, all of them still earn extra either for labor work such as weeding and fencing, NGO work assignment, gathering, or intermediary for almaciga resin even for wild pig meat.
The rest of the 10 respondents are earning below Php8,500.00. Two of these are employed by an NGO to work as their patrollers in CNCH and compensate each with Php4,200.00 monthly. However, their employment is dependent on the funding status of the NGO. Hence, similar to respondents with above Php8,500.00, they also earn extra from doing labor work and gathering almaciga resin.
P8,500-P11,000 monthly P8,500-P11,000 monthly
P1,000-P3,000 monthly P1,200 (2020); P2,700 (2021) based on actual meat sold in 1 month catch
P4,200 monthly P3,000 monthly Task basis
Daily or weekly Daily or weekly
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Barangay LGU City Government Gathering of almaciga resin Selling of wild pig meat Non-Government Organization Intermediary for almaciga resin Extra: NGO work Extra: Fencing Extra: Weeding
No. of Respondent
Source of Income
C P B P C N C H 40
Eight of the 17 respondents also depend on almaciga resin gathering which provides them a monthly income range of Php1,000.00-3,000.00 both in Kalakwasan and Tagnaya, and mostly Php2,000.00-3,000.00 in Manggapin. A sack of almaciga resin which a person can carry for one trip is 50 kilos, and the price ranges from Php21.00 to 24.00 per kilo, which could earn a person at Php1,050.00 1,200.00.
Two of the 17 respondents earn from being intermediaries for the selling of the almaciga resin because they could no longer do the gathering due to old age and health reasons. They commonly earn Php3,000.00 monthly.
T . T
could also be for wild pig meat. Also, an IP hunter who has no catch could be hired by
a diwan as a . I
2020, the carrier earned Php1,000.00 in January, and in October, Php 900.00.
Only two of the six hunters admitted to selling wild pig meat. One earned Php1,200.00 in 2020 based on the actual meat sold in April, and the other Php2,700.00 in 2021 also based on actual meat sold in September. They explained that whenever they are in extreme difficulty, they hunt, and when they could not catch one, they gather almaciga resin so when they go down from the forest, they can sell it and buy food for the family.
The earnings from selling the wild pig meat depend on the size of the wild pig caught.Hence, this is not fixed monthly or happens every month. The respondent who earned Php1,200.00 sold 10 kilos of meat from one wild pig caught, and approximately 5 kilos were consumed as food valued at Php600.00. The other respondent who earned Php2,700.00 sold 18 kilos of meat from two wild pigs caught. The rest of the meat, including two other wild pigs caught, was consumed by them as food for the community occasion and valued at Php11,700.00. This means the cash earned
C P B P C N C H 41
monthly from selling the wild pig meat depends on how much will be set aside for food and shared with the community.
9.6.2 Household size and sufficiency of income for food needs
The average household size of the respondents in Tagnaya is five, Manggapin is six, and Kalakwasan is three. The average household size in Puerto Princesa City is recorded at 3.7 based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The Family Income and Expenditure Surveys (FIES) in July 2021 by the PSA reported that for a family of five, the monthly food threshold was Php8,393.00. The PSA defined the
income required to meet basic food needs and satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute to ensure
.
Data suggests that for Tagnaya respondents, each family should be able to earn this amount to meet their food needs, and even higher for the family in Manggapin. It is also important to consider information on age structure, like how many children and elderly persons in a family are dependent on family members of working age. If more family members are of working age, a family has more chance to generate higher income.
Two of the respondents in Tagnaya and Manggapin who believe their income is sufficient enough to cover their household needs have a more stable source of income because they are in the government. However, upon close examination, one respondent with four other members in the household also earns from almaciga and wild pig, and the other respondent with three other members in the household takes an extra NGO work assignment. This means their salary from the government which is above Php8,500.00 monthly could not fully support their household needs. This
C P B P C N C H 42
makes sense because the monthly food threshold of Php8,393.00 based on FIES only covers food needs.
The months of July and August are difficult for the Batak because there is no kaingin at this time, and the weather is erratic. When they are in a tight situation, some family members like in Tagnaya find extra work as laborers. They also gather almaciga resin even for just one sack, and in extreme cases hunt wild pig. While other respondents never thought of hunting wild pig and selling wild pig meat, one respondent mentioned that sometimes many of them hunt, and whatever is earned, is equally divided among them. He sometimes gets Php200.00. They also borrow from stores by getting goods in advance which they can pay later on for as long they have a job.
In Manggapin, they also resort to borrowing from neighbors and even think of hunting wild pigs even though according to one respondent he could not catch even one. The other respondent never thought of hunting wild pigs because he could not hunt anymore due to health reasons. They remedy their situation by temporarily using the money they received as 4Ps beneficiaries to purchase rice and later replace it with the cash they earn from selling the almaciga resin they gathered.
In Kalakwasan, they practice austerity and some resort to almaciga resin gathering. One respondent admitted that his current work at the government prevents him from entertaining the idea of hunting wild pig and feels there is a law, and that wild pigs should be protected.