This paper is a systematic review of the theories distilled from the contemporary literatures on rural poverty in the Philippines. There are five sociological theories which explains the rural poverty in the country: individual attributes, culture, and religious beliefs; access and entitlements; political and economic situation; social circumstances; and unpredicted shocks. Accordingly, rural poverty is still individual phenomena affected by wider economic, political and societal circumstances that lead the rural poor to greater inequality.Using the framework developed from five theories, it is essential that the government and development planners to consider foremost individual attributes while considering their culture and beliefs. They also must ensure the access to essential resources, institutionalized favorable political and economic environment that will benefit them, promote equality, and provide safety nets to lessen the vulnerability to unpredicted shocks., {"references":["Alkire, S., & Foster, J. (2011). Understandings and misunderstandings of multidimensional poverty measurement. J Econ Inequa, 9, 289–314. doi:10.1007/s10888-011-9181-4","Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2009). Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints, and opportunities. Mandaluyung City, Philippines: ADB.","Austin, M. J. (2007). Understanding poverty. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 16(1-2), 1-4. doi:10.1300/J137v16n01_01","Balisacan, A. M. (2001). Poverty in the Philippines : An Update and Reexamination. Philippine Review of Economics, 38(1), 15-52.","Balisacan, A., & Fuwa, N. (2004). Going beyond crosscountry averages: Growth, Inequality and Poverty Reduction in the Philippines. World Development, 32(11), 1891–1907. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2004.05.010","Bayudan-Dacuycuy, C., & Lim, J. (2013). Family size, household shocks and chronic and transient poverty in the Philippines. Journal of Asian Economic, 29, 101-112. doi:10.1016/j.asieco.2013.10.001","Borras Jr, S. M., Carranza, D., & Franco, J. C. (2007). Anti-poverty or anti-poor? The World Bank's market-led agrarian reform experiment in the Philippines. Third World Quarterly, 28(8), 1557-1576. doi:10.1080/01436590701637409","Bourguignon, F., & Chakvavarty, S. (2003, April). The measurement of multidimensioanl poverty. Journal of Economic Inequality, 1(1), 25-49. doi:10.1023/A:1023913831342","Bradshaw, T. (2007). Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty Programs in Community Development. Community Development, 38(1), 7-25. doi:10.1080/15575330709490182"]}