Poverty's Political Face: The Case of Pasil, Cebu City

Abstract

Coming from the notions of AmartyaSen and Robert Chambers, on poverty as "capability deprivation" and "absence of well-being", this study seeks to portray a "political face" of the poor's condition. Beyond the usual depiction of the poor as living below the "poverty line" what kind of lives do they have in the much larger landscape of the structure of power relations? How do they position themselves vis-a-vis the powerful politicians and how do they understand themselves as actors of political processes such as elections? The study believes that beyond the totalizing views of poverty in mainstream social science scholarship, the poor's portrayal and understanding of their own condition must be considered, not to replace the existing explanations and views but in order to interrogate and eventually enrich some of its assumptions. A particular village, i.e. Pasil is used as a case in order to provide an empirical illustration of the study. The said village is located in Cebu City, a bigger proportion of which is a slum area. Methodologically, the study uses qualitative data collection techniques such as Focus Group Discussion and Key Informant Interview; socio-political analysis and analyis of interview and discussion transcriptions are part of the interpretive process.