Guimaras Poverty Rate Drops to 6.5% in 2023

The poverty incidence in Guimaras dropped to 6.5% in 2023 from 10.0% in 2021, reflecting a significant reduction in the proportion of Guimarasnons whose per capita income falls short of meeting their basic food and non-food needs.

This translates to 7 out of 100 Guimarasnons living below the poverty threshold, based on preliminary results from the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Approximately 12,380 Guimarasnons had incomes below the poverty threshold in 2023, a decrease of 6,360 individuals compared to 18,740 in 2021. This 2023 figure is also lower than the 17,190 recorded in 2018, a pre-pandemic period.

The poverty incidence among families in Guimaras also saw a reduction, with 3.8% recorded in 2023. This marks a 47.9% drop from the 2021 level. About 4 out of 100 families in the province earned below the required amount to meet their basic needs. This figure represents a decline of 3.5 percentage points from 2021 and 3.0 percentage points from 2018.

“The annual per capita poverty threshold in Guimaras was PhP30,847 in 2023, meaning a family of five required at least PhP12,853 in monthly income to meet basic food and non-food needs,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare explained.

This amount is lower than the PhP13,801 required for the same household in Western Visayas.

Losare added that the income gap in Guimaras was estimated at 9.1% in 2023, down by 6.7 percentage points from 15.8% in 2021.

“The poverty gap reflects the income shortfall, expressed as a proportion of the poverty threshold, for families earning below the poverty line,” Losare stated.

For food alone, a family of five in Guimaras needed at least PhP9,059 monthly to meet basic food needs in 2023. This represents an 11.9% increase from the 2021 level of PhP8,096 and a 20.4% rise compared to the 2018 level of PhP7,523.

Comparing poverty incidence among the population in Region 6, Aklan recorded the lowest poverty rate at 4.6%, followed by Guimaras and Capiz at 6.5% and 13.4%, respectively.

Three provinces reported poverty rates exceeding 13% in 2023, with Antique registering the highest at 18.9%. (See figure 1)

Among families, Aklan also recorded the lowest poverty incidence in the region at 3.1%, followed by Guimaras at 3.8%. The other provinces posted double-digit rates, with Antique at 13.8%.

In 2023, four provinces in Region 6 managed to reduce poverty incidence among families. Aklan showed the largest decline, with a 10.8-percentage-point drop, while Guimaras reduced its rate by 3.7 percentage points. Antique and Iloilo also saw reductions but remained in double-digit territory.

Capiz was the only province in the region to record an increase in family poverty incidence, rising by 3.7 percentage points.

In terms of poverty clusters, Aklan improved to Cluster 6 in 2023 from Cluster 5 in 2021, joining Guimaras and Capiz. Meanwhile, Antique and Iloilo remained in Cluster 5.

Guimaras’ continued improvement reflects significant progress in reducing poverty, with targeted efforts contributing to the province’s sustained development.