If land ownership were the only measure of wealth, then people living in the Cordilleras are the richest in the Philippines, with almost every other household owning land other than the lot they occupy.
The 2020 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that one in every five Filipino households own a second piece of land, or 5.3 million out of the 26.4 million households during the national population survey.
Except in Metro Manila, households in the 16 other administrative regions of the country showed double digit percentage in terms of landownership. Only 8.2 percent of the 3.49 million households in Metro Manila own at least a second piece of land while for nearby Calabarzon the level is 10.9 percent of the 4.06 million households.
Census showed that 47.7 percent of the 439,139 households – nearly one in every two in the Cordillera Administrative Region – own at least two pieces of land. Cagayan Valley, Caraga, Mimaropa and SOCCKSARGEN all showed percentages of more than 30 percent.
Most of the regions also registered the highest level of poverty incidence in the Philippines.
Land values in Metro Manila and Calabarzon are also among the highest in the country, making it almost prohibitive for the ordinary household to own land, much less own a second lot.
