The poor as key stakeholders of the project are the most vulnerable sector of society.  Considered one of the most neglected sectors of government, the poor are prone to abuse by all other sectors including government instrumentalities.   Part of the socio-economic profile of the poor according to NSCB (2006) shows that approximately 24 out of 100 Filipino families did not earn enough to satisfy their basic food and non-food requirements.  In terms of population, 30 out of 100 Filipinos has income short of the minimum cost of satisfying the basic requirements.  For 2007, Filipino families consisting of 5 members should be earning a combined monthly income of PhP 6,195 in order to meet their most basic food and non-food needs for the year (NSCB, 2006).

Geographically, poverty in the country generally pertains to poverty in the rural setting which accounts for 75% (or three out of four).  The poverty level in rural areas is much higher at 48.8% against 18.6% in urban areas.  This means almost 5 out of 10 rural residents are poor compared with almost 2 out of 10 urban residents (MTPDP 2004-2010).  According to the NSCB (2007), the poorest province in terms of poverty incidence of families is Zamboanga del Norte (64.6%), followed by Maguindanao (60.4%) and Masbate (55.9%).