Story By: ELMER RECUERDO
TACLOBAN CITY – Poverty incidence in Eastern Visayas slightly went down to 26.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023 but a third of its population has a per capita income that is not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
This percentage of poor is way above the national average of 16.4% or 4.51 million poor families in the country that are earning below the poverty threshold of P13,797 per month. The average monthly poverty threshold for a family of five in Eastern Visayas in 2023 was estimated at P12,897.
In its report, PSA Eastern Visayas said the poverty incidence in the region – affecting one in every four families – slightly reduced from 28.9 percent recorded in the first semester of 2021 when the country was still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. PSA-8 estimates 308,800 families in the region are poor in 2023.
Among the six provinces and one highly urbanized city in the region, an increase in poverty incidence was recorded in Samar with 35.8% from 30% in 2021 and in Northern Samar with 27.5% from 23.1% over the same period. All the rest recorded a reduction in the number of poor families.
Samar also recorded the highest poverty incidence at 35.8%, Eastern Samar with 35.6%, Northern Samar with 27.5%, Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) 23.8%, and Southern Leyte with 16.6%. Biliran and Tacloban City recorded similar poverty incidence at 13.2%.
PSA-8 said the data were based on the preliminary results of the first visit of the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES).
This percentage of poor is way above the national average of 16.4% or 4.51 million poor families in the country that are earning below the poverty threshold of P13,797 per month. The average monthly poverty threshold for a family of five in Eastern Visayas in 2023 was estimated at P12,897.
In its report, PSA Eastern Visayas said the poverty incidence in the region – affecting one in every four families – slightly reduced from 28.9 percent recorded in the first semester of 2021 when the country was still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. PSA-8 estimates 308,800 families in the region are poor in 2023.
Among the six provinces and one highly urbanized city in the region, an increase in poverty incidence was recorded in Samar with 35.8% from 30% in 2021 and in Northern Samar with 27.5% from 23.1% over the same period. All the rest recorded a reduction in the number of poor families.
Samar also recorded the highest poverty incidence at 35.8%, Eastern Samar with 35.6%, Northern Samar with 27.5%, Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) 23.8%, and Southern Leyte with 16.6%. Biliran and Tacloban City recorded similar poverty incidence at 13.2%.
PSA-8 said the data were based on the preliminary results of the first visit of the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES).
Poor individuals
While on the family level only one in every four families are poor, over a third of individuals belong to the poor population whose per capita income was not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs. This implies that the family size of poor families is generally bigger than the non-poor.
PSA-8 said over the same period, almost half of the population in Eastern Samar (44.9%) and Samar (43.5%) were experiencing poverty; and about a third in Northern Samar (36.2%) and Leyte (31.3%).
Poverty incidence among the population was at 23.8% in Southern Leyte, 19.7% in Biliran and 19.2% in Tacloban City.(CJ/jmm/ER)
While on the family level only one in every four families are poor, over a third of individuals belong to the poor population whose per capita income was not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs. This implies that the family size of poor families is generally bigger than the non-poor.
PSA-8 said over the same period, almost half of the population in Eastern Samar (44.9%) and Samar (43.5%) were experiencing poverty; and about a third in Northern Samar (36.2%) and Leyte (31.3%).
Poverty incidence among the population was at 23.8% in Southern Leyte, 19.7% in Biliran and 19.2% in Tacloban City.(CJ/jmm/ER)
