MANILA, Philippines — Local government heads in Mindanao must prioritize education if they want to give their constituents a better chance of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Jimuel Que, mayor of Bongao in the island province of Tawi- Tawi in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is making this call for fellow local government chiefs in Mindanao, home to two-fifths of the country’s poor according to the World Bank (WB) report Making Growth Work for the Poor: A Poverty Assessment for the Philippines.

“You’ve seen the data. The less education, the greater the poverty incidence,” he says, citing the presaentation of economist and former Economic Planning Secretary Solita Collas-Monsodat at a recent Seal of Good Education Governance Awarding Ceremony.  Held by Synergeia Foundation, in partnership with USAID, PLDT and Smart Communications, the annual event recognizes municipalities and cities for their outstanding efforts in the field of education.