DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Feb 7 (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) 2021 full-year official poverty statistics showed that Negros Oriental registered the highest poverty incidence in Central Visayas with 29.3% or 414,042 NegOrenses. 

PSA Negros Oriental Chief Engr. Ariel Fortuito said this means that in 2021, around 29 in every 100 individuals in the province belonged to the poor population whose income were not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs.

The figure is higher than the 25.5% poverty incidence recorded in the 2018 survey, but lower than the 42.6% in 2015 as shown in an information dissemination forum in Dumaguete City.

It was noted that the poverty rate has increased due to the effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and Typhoon Odette.

Among families, the poverty incidence was at 23.6% in 2021, which is equivalent to 80,034 poor families.

This is also higher than the 19.4% recorded in 2018.

Fortuito said the magnitude of poor families in the province grew by ration and proportion.

Out of 100 families, there are 24 with incomes below the amount needed to buy their basic food and non-food needs in 2021.

“So these figures show that an agency or DSWD wants to target it, that’s their benchmark or challenge to look for these poor families to provide assistance,” Fortuito added.

Poverty incidence has been defined as “the proportion of families or individuals with per capita income less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families or individuals.”

The PSA provincial head urged local government units (LGUs) to implement the community-based monitoring system (CBMS), a tool to fight poverty.

CBMS will serve as a basis in targeting households for government programs geared towards poverty alleviation and economic development.

Data that will be generated by CBMS are the compendium of localized facts, figures, and maps on the different dimensions of poverty such as health, nutrition, water, sanitation, shelter, education, income, employment, security, and participation.

Fortuito pushed the LGUs to implement the CBMS to assess poverty that can be used for evidence-based planning and budgeting.

In Central Visayas, Negros Oriental logged the highest poverty rate, followed by Cebu (with highly urbanized cities) with 28.6%, Bohol with 23.8%, and Siquijor with 3.4%. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)