The percentage of families considered poor in Western Visayas (WV) decreased in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The region’s poverty incidence among families went down from 12.1 (140,000 families) percent in 2021 to 9.8 (119,000 families) percent last year.
“This means that 10 in every 100 families are considered poor or have income below the amount needed to afford the basic minimum food and non-food needs,” said PSA officer-in-charge regional Director Nelida Amolar.
WV ranked seventh among the regions in the country with the lowest poverty incidence. The national poverty incidence stood at 10.9 percent.
Of the provinces in the region, Aklan had the lowest poverty incidence at 3.1 percent, followed by Guimaras (3.8 percent), Capiz (9.8 percent), Iloilo (12.7 percent), Antique (13.8 percent), and Negros Occidental (25.7 percent.
The highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod posted the poverty incidence of 2.2 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.
In terms of population, the region’s poverty incidence was at 13.7 percent in 2023. This is equivalent to 664,000 poor individuals, lower compared to 820,000 in 2021.
“The average threshold for a family of five is calculated at P13,801 per month. This is the minimum amount needed to cover the primary food and non-food needs of a family. Those with income below the threshold are considered to be living in poverty,” said Amolar.
Aklan posted the lowest poverty threshold per family at P12,558, followed by Guimaras (P12,853), Antique ( P13,710), Capiz (P13,850) Iloilo (P13,933) and Negros Occidental (P14,892).
Poverty incidence is defined by PSA as “the proportion of families/individuals with per capita income/expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families/individuals.” IMT
