Story: ELMER RECUERDO
Photos: From the Net.
Photos: From the Net.
The Philippine Statistics Authority in Northern Samar called out a social media blog page for spreading inaccurate data identifying the province as the third poorest province in the country.
The Northern Samar Provincial Statistics Office also cautioned the public against "fake news" that are spread on social media as they may cause confusion to the public.
The blog page in Facebook called Pinoy History, with 1.3 million followers and 944,000 likes, posted on 31 March its list of 10 poorest provinces in the country as of the first quarter of 2024 where Northern Samar was third of the list below Lanao Del Sur and Maguindanao provinces.
The page claims that the blog site is about history, politics, trivia, facts, entertainment, and culture.
The Northern Samar Provincial Statistics Office also cautioned the public against "fake news" that are spread on social media as they may cause confusion to the public.
The blog page in Facebook called Pinoy History, with 1.3 million followers and 944,000 likes, posted on 31 March its list of 10 poorest provinces in the country as of the first quarter of 2024 where Northern Samar was third of the list below Lanao Del Sur and Maguindanao provinces.
The page claims that the blog site is about history, politics, trivia, facts, entertainment, and culture.
Ms. Maria Theresa Elizalde, Officer-In-Charge of PSA Northern Samar, said that Northern Samar has long been out of the ten poorest provinces in the country since 2018.
She said the data can be verified on the website of PSA, the government agency that releases official statistical data on population, poverty incidence, labor and socio-economic indicators among others.
Elizalde said the latest poverty statistics released by PSA is the first semester of 2023, and none in 2024. Likewise, PSA has no quarterly poverty statistics, but by semester. Meanwhile, the full 2023 PSA survey results have yet to be released.
"The post was indeed history because the data used was that of 2015 when Northern Samar was once included in the top 10 poorest provinces in the country," Elizalde pointed out.
In the PSA 2023 poverty statistics, Northern survey posted a 27.5% poverty incidence among families, way lower than the 35.8% poverty incidence of Samar (Western Samar), and 35.6% of Eastern Samar.
In 2018 when Northern Samar was removed from the record of the poorest provinces in the country, it registered a 30% poverty incidence which further dropped in 2021, at 23.1%.
She added the recent developments in Northern Samar points to a better economic outlook this year due to the programs being pushed by the provincial government.(CJ/jmm/ER)
She said the data can be verified on the website of PSA, the government agency that releases official statistical data on population, poverty incidence, labor and socio-economic indicators among others.
Elizalde said the latest poverty statistics released by PSA is the first semester of 2023, and none in 2024. Likewise, PSA has no quarterly poverty statistics, but by semester. Meanwhile, the full 2023 PSA survey results have yet to be released.
"The post was indeed history because the data used was that of 2015 when Northern Samar was once included in the top 10 poorest provinces in the country," Elizalde pointed out.
In the PSA 2023 poverty statistics, Northern survey posted a 27.5% poverty incidence among families, way lower than the 35.8% poverty incidence of Samar (Western Samar), and 35.6% of Eastern Samar.
In 2018 when Northern Samar was removed from the record of the poorest provinces in the country, it registered a 30% poverty incidence which further dropped in 2021, at 23.1%.
She added the recent developments in Northern Samar points to a better economic outlook this year due to the programs being pushed by the provincial government.(CJ/jmm/ER)
