04 January 2023 – Guimaras. The poverty incidence among the population or the proportion of poor Filipinos whose per capita income is not sufficient to meet their basic food and non-food needs in the first semester of 2023 reduced by more than half, from 25.7 percent in 2021 to 13.1 percent in the first semester of 2023 translating to 23,040 Guimarasnons were lifted out of poverty during the period, based on the preliminary results of the First Visit of the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

On average, a family of five still needs at least PhP12,404 a month to meet their minimum basic food and non-food needs in 2023 sem1.

“Poverty results revealed that the subsistence incidence among Filipinos, or the proportion of Filipinos whose income is not enough to buy even the basic food needs, was estimated at 2.2 percent or about 4,110 Filipinos in the first semester of 2023, lower than the 8.8 percent registered in the same period in 2021 or about 16,430 individuals,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

On average, a family of five still needs a monthly income of PhP8,713.00 to meet their minimum basic food needs in the first semester of 2023," Losare added.

Losare also expounded that among families in the First Semester of 2023, poverty incidence dropped to 8.5 percent, which was equivalent to 4,150 families, translating to a more than 50.0 percent reduction from the 19.0 percent or 8,890 families, in the first semester of 2021.

“The subsistence incidence among families in Guimaras province recorded at 1.3 percent or about 630 food-poor families in the first semester of 2023, is lower than the 6.3 percent or 2,970 food-poor families in the same period of 2021," Losare said.

Losare further elucidated that the income gap measures the average amount required for an individual to get out of poverty expressed to the poverty thresholds.

The income gap in Guimaras is estimated at 16.4 percent in the first semester of 2023, which means that an additional monthly income of PhP2,441 is still needed for families whose income falls below the poverty line for them to move out of poverty in the first semester of 2023.

“This can serve as a useful reference, especially in determining the necessary livelihood project the Local Chief Executives need to implement as a source of income by poor families to lift them out of poverty,” Losare said.

Losare also highlighted that the poverty gap of Guimaras recorded at 1.4 percent in the first semester of 2023, is 2.9 percent lower than the poverty gap estimated at 4.3 percent in the same period in 2021.

“The poverty gap refers to the income shortfall (expressed in proportion to the poverty threshold) of families with income below the poverty threshold, divided by the total number of families”, Losare said

Likewise, the severity of poverty in Guimaras was estimated at 0.4 percent in the first semester of 2023, a notable drop from 1.5 percent in the same period in 2021.

“The severity of poverty is the total of the squared income shortfall (expressed in proportion to the poverty threshold) of families with income below the poverty threshold, divided by the total number of families,” Losare said.

The food threshold is the minimum income required to meet basic food needs, satisfying the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) to ensure that one remains economically and socially productive.

The Poverty threshold is the minimum income required to meet the basic food and non-food needs such as clothing, fuel, light and water, housing, rental of occupied dwelling units, transportation and communication, health and education expenses, non-durable furnishing, household operations, and personal care and effects, Losare said.

Losare clarified that poverty incidence among families is the proportion of families whose income is below the poverty line to the total number of families. Poverty incidence among the population is the proportion of the population whose income is below the poverty line to the total population.

Losare also highlighted that the Province of Guimaras landed the 9th rank in the first semester of 2023 among the 20 least poor provinces of the country, classified at cluster 5 (least poor cluster). Two provinces of the Western Visayas Region, Aklan, and Guimaras, belong to the least poor cluster.