Guimaras cuts poverty rate, climbs economic ladder
ILOILO CITY—Guimaras has made remarkable strides to reduce poverty in the island province, records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
According to the PSA, the poverty incidence in Guimaras dropped from 10 percent in 2021 to 6.5 percent in 2023—the last time that the agency came up with a report on the matter.
Guimaras now has the second lowest poverty rate in Western Visayas, behind Aklan’s 4.6 percent, the PSA said in a report released on Jan 27.
The 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey revealed that 12,380 Guimarasnons had incomes below the poverty threshold, marking a significant decrease of 6,360 individuals from 18,740 in 2021.
This number was lower than the 17,190 recorded in 2018, or two years before the COVID-19 pandemic struck that crippled most economies in the country.
Poverty among families in Guimaras also saw a sharp decline with the rate falling to 3.8 percent in 2023—a 47.9-percent reduction from 2021’s level of 7.3 percent, the PSA said.
This means only four out of 100 families struggled to meet their basic needs, a drop of 3.5 percentage points from 2021 and 3.0 percentage points from 2018.
Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida Losare explained that a family of five in Guimaras required at least P12,853 per month to afford food, housing, and other essentials.
The income disparity between the wealthiest and poorest households in Guimaras is also narrowing with the income gap dropping to 9.1 percent in 2023 from 15.8 percent in 2021—a 6.7-percentage-point decrease.
In terms of poverty incidence among the population, Aklan remained the least affected in Western Visayas at 4.6 percent, followed by Guimaras at 6.5 percent, and Capiz at 13.4 percent.
Antique posted the highest poverty rate at 18.9 percent, with Iloilo and Negros Occidental also recording double-digit figures.
