Poverty incidence in Antique declines in 2018

SAN JOSE, Antique – Poverty incidence among Antiqueño families in the first semester of 2018 declined to an estimated 18.3 percent against 27 percent in the same period in 2015.

The family incidence is the proportion of families whose income is below the poverty line out of the total number of families in the province.

In a press release, Provincial Statistics Officer Jesus F. Escote Jr., also noted that poverty incidence among Antiqueño individuals in the first semester of 2018 likewise went down to 24.8 percent from 35.0 percent in 2015.

This refers to the proportion of the population living below the poverty line out of the total population of Antique.

In the first semester of 2018, a family of five in Antique needed no less than PhP6,797, on average, to meet the family’s basic food needs for a month. This amount is the food threshold.

On the other hand, no less than PhP9,733, on average, was needed to meet both basic food and non-food needs of a family of five in a month. This amount is the poverty threshold.

This is 14.28 percent higher than the food and poverty thresholds from the first semester of 2015.

Food threshold is the minimum income required to meet the 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. (PIA-Antique)