Philippines’ Prosperity Skips the Poor
菲律賓日漸繁榮 窮人沒分
By Floyd Whaley

MANILA – At his vegetable stand here, Lamberto Tagarro is surrounded by gleaming skyscrapers, through which a river of luxury vehicles flows.
塔加羅站在他在馬尼拉的菜攤後面，四周是光鮮亮麗的摩天大樓，各種高級汽車在大樓之間川流不息。

“The Philippines is the rising tiger economy of Asia,” said Mr. Tagarro, who earns the equivalent of $5 a day. “But only the rich people are going up and up. I’m not feeling it.”
每天只賺五美元的塔加羅說：「菲律賓是亞洲新興的經濟小虎，可是只有富人過得越來越好。我感受不到。」

The Philippines, with a 7.8 percent expansion of gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2013, has the fastest-growing economy in East Asia. The country has a red-hot stock market, a strong currency and a steady stream of upgrades from international ratings agencies.
菲律賓今年第一季的國內生產毛額（GDP）成長7.8%，是增速最快的東亞經濟體。菲律賓股市火紅，幣值堅挺，國際信評機構也不斷調高其評級。

But Mr. Tagarro’s experience of being left behind by the country’s newfound prosperity mirrors that of many Filipinos, according to the latest data.
然而塔加羅卻無緣享受菲國近幾年創造的繁榮成果。根據最新公布的統計數字，處境相同的菲國人為數不少。

An estimated seven million Filipinos, about 17 percent of the work force, have gone overseas in search of jobs, according to the Asian Development Bank.
根據亞洲開發銀行的統計，前往海外找工作的菲律賓人多達700萬，約占勞動總人口的17%。

The country’s unemployment rate increased to 7.5 percent in April, from 6.9 percent at the same time a year earlier. About three million Filipinos who want to work are unemployed.
今年四月菲律賓的失業率增至7.5%，高於去年同期的6.9%。想工作卻失業者約有300萬。

In his first three years in office, President Benigno S. Aquino III removed high-level government officials accused of corruption, cracked down on tax evaders and aggressively courted foreign investment. He has had less success in addressing the country’s persistent, widespread poverty.
主政的前三年，菲律賓總統艾奎諾撤換被控貪腐的高階政府官員，追查逃漏稅，同時積極吸引外資。然而，他在處理菲國長期而廣泛的貧窮問題方面卻建樹不多。

The Philippines still has a strong service sector, and recently overtook India as a top provider of offshore call centers. But the country lacks the manufacturing base that has lifted millions of people out of poverty in other Asian countries.
菲律賓仍然具有堅實的服務業，最近並取代印度，成為最大的客服中心提供國，然而菲國至今仍然缺少製造業基礎。製造業已經使其他亞洲國家的無數人民脫貧。

The latest data on poverty shows almost no improvement since 2007. About 10 percent of Filipinos live in extreme poverty.
根據最新統計數字，2007年至今，菲律賓的貧窮問題幾無改善。大約10%國民處於赤貧狀態。

According to government estimates, more than nine million extremely poor Filipino households cannot earn the 5,460 pesos, or $135, needed each month to eat. That amount is about the same as the price of a back-row upper-level ticket to the recent Aerosmith concert in Manila.
根據政府統計，逾900萬戶赤貧家庭每月收入低於填飽肚子所需的5,460披索（約135美元）。這個金額約可購買一張最近在馬尼拉舉行的史密斯飛船演唱會後排較上層門票。

A recent survey by a Manila polling group found that 19.2 percent of respondents, about 3.9 million families, reported going hungry. That was up from 16.3 percent in December.
根據馬尼拉某民調機構最近公布的一項調查數字，19.2%的受訪者（大約390萬個家庭）自稱經常處於挨餓狀態，百分比高於去年12月的16.3%。

Rural poverty is particularly acute. Hardest hit is the fishing sector, which has shrunk.
鄉村地區的貧窮問題尤其嚴重，其中又以已經萎縮的漁業受創最重。

Joel Cesista, a 26-year-old fisherman who supports his wife and infant son, lives west of Manila. He cannot find factory work and has no land to farm, so he embarks on a dangerous effort to find tuna 320 kilometers out into the South China Sea about twice a month, earning about $200 on a good trip. “There is no permanent work here,” Mr. Cesista said. “All we have is fishing.”
26歲的漁民塞希斯達必須養活妻子與還在襁褓中的兒子，一家人住在馬尼拉西郊。他找不到工廠的工作，也無地可耕，只好從事一項危險的工作：出海320公里，前往南海捕撈鮪魚，每個月大約兩次。如果運氣好，每趟約可賺到200美元。他說：「這裡沒有永久性的工作。我們只能捕魚。」

When expenses exceed the catch, he is paid nothing. Often he is just glad to make it home alive. “We have almost sunk in storms,” he said.
如果開銷大於漁獲，他拿不到分文。他經常單單因為可以活著回家就感到萬幸。他說：「我們幾乎被暴風雨吞噬。」

Since 2008, with the support of international organizations, the government has had a conditional cash-transfer program that gives money to the country’s poorest people in return for actions such as keeping their children in school.
2008年，在國際組織協助下，菲律賓政府推出一項附帶條件的現金補助方案，為最窮的國民提供現金，對方則必須採取保證孩子按時上學等回應措施。

The program, which helps almost four million families, has received positive reviews, but it has also been besieged by accusations of corruption and has not shown an effect on national poverty figures.
這項計畫惠及將近400萬個家庭，實施後獲得好評，卻又難逃相關官員貪腐的指控，而且無法有效降低全國的貧窮數字。

Julita Cabading, 56, had hoped for aid. She said she had not been able to find work as an accountant because employers preferred to hire younger people, and she could not afford training to improve her job skills.
56歲的茱莉妲‧卡巴丁曾經指望獲得協助。她說，她一直無法找到會計的工作，因為雇主寧可雇用比較年輕的人，而她又負擔不起接受職業訓練以提升工作技能的費用。

Mrs. Cabading earns about $3 a day selling newspapers and gum in Manila. When she applied for aid, she was told she would need to wait at home as long as two months for an interview.
卡巴丁靠著在馬尼拉兜售報紙與口香糖，目前每天僅能賺得3美元。她曾經申請補助，承辦官員卻告訴她，她必須等候兩個月，才有機會接受面談。

She has since taken out a loan and is now in a common trap, working at subsistence wages, without government help, to survive and pay off loans.
她此後取得一筆貸款，目前已經陷入常見的困境。她工作的微薄收入僅夠勉強餬口，還得償還貸款，而且沒有任何政府的協助。

“The Philippines is improving,” Ms. Cabading said. “But it hasn’t reached me yet.”
卡巴丁說：「菲律賓的經濟正在改善中，然而我還沒有享受到任何成果。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/business/global/for-many-filipinos-jobs-and-the-good-life-are-still-scarce.html

紐時中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/asia-pacific/20130624/c24philecon/zh-hant/

2013-07-09聯合報/G9版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 陳世欽譯 原文參見紐時週報七版右