TACLOBAN CITY – At least three out of every 10 families in Eastern Visayas are poor based on the result of the first semester 2021 survey, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In a report released by PSA on Feb.3, the poverty incidence among families in the region in the first half of 2021 was estimated at 28.9 percent, slightly lower than the 30.4 percent level recorded in the same period in 2018.
“These families have income that were below (of) amount needed to buy their basic food and non-food needs,” Wilma Perante, PSA Eastern Visayas regional director, said in a phone interview.
A family of five in Eastern Visayas needs at least P11,292 monthly to sustain their basic needs last year. The amount is higher than the P10,163 monthly income requirement in 2018.
“The first semester 2021 data is a reflection of income and spending experiences of families in the region in the past three years. This is also affected by what people have gone through during the pandemic early last year,” Perante added.
The National Economic and Development Authority has yet to come up with an analysis of the latest poverty statistics.
Meanwhile, poverty incidence among families in Eastern Samar was estimated at 36 percent, the highest in the region.
However, the province has shown improvements after it recorded a 43 percent poverty incidence in 2018.
Leyte province maintained its poverty incidence in three years at 31.3 percent.
Samar’s figure dropped to 30 percent from 32.2 percent while Southern Leyte registered a higher incidence from 22.9 percent to 25.5 percent.
Northern Samar province is one of the most improved provinces as poverty incidence dropped to 23.1 percent from 30 percent three years earlier.
On the other hand, poverty incidence among families in Biliran increased to 22.4 percent from 18 percent.
Poverty incidence among families for Tacloban City, the lone highly urbanized city in the region, was recorded at 14.7 percent in the first semester of 2021, higher than the 13.1 percent recorded three years ago.
PSA came up with these figures from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey held every three years.
The study examines the family’s income and capacity to buy basic food requirements based on the 100 percent adequacy for the Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intake, and 80 percent adequacy for other nutrients.
It also looks into the ability of families’ income to provide basic non-food requirements such as clothing and footwear, housing, fuel, light, water, maintenance and minor repairs, healthcare, education, transportation and communication, furniture, household operations, and personal care.(SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)
