Abstract
The Philippines adopted the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program as part of its social protection policy that provides assistance to households belonging to the poorest sectors of society. Indigenous peoples are generally part of this sector and considered as one of the most disadvantaged groups in the country. Given their distinct conditions and cultural characteristics, I analyze the experiences of indigenous beneficiaries, particularly the Palaw’an, in the CCT program. Through an ethnographic case study, I found that the CCT does little to help indigenous peoples facing profound structural poverty because the root causes of their plight remain unaddressed. Thus, despite the presence of cash transfer assistance that is supposed to uplift its recipients’ welfare, the indigenous peoples’ socioeconomic conditions remain the same.
Recommended Citation
Girado, Marie Bembie A.
(2025)
"State Misdiagnosis of Poverty: The Conditional Cash Transfer Experience of the Palaw’an People,"
Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints: Vol. 73:
No.
2, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13185/2244-1638.5105
Available at:
https://archium.ateneo.edu/phstudies/vol73/iss2/13
