In a promising development for the province of Guimaras, the poverty rate has seen a notable decrease, dropping to 6.5 percent in 2023 from 10 percent in 2021, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday. The latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) for 2023 indicates that only 7 out of every 100 residents, or 4 out of every 100 families, were living below the poverty line, struggling to meet their basic needs for food and other essentials. The number of individuals in Guimaras living below the poverty threshold fell to 12,380 in 2023, a significant reduction from the 18,740 recorded in 2021. This figure is also lower than the 17,190 reported in 2018, before the onset of the global health crisis. According to Nelida Losare, the Provincial Statistics Officer, the annual per capita poverty threshold in Guimaras was set at PHP30,847, requiring a family of five to earn at least PHP12,853 monthly to cover their basic needs, which is less than the regional threshold of PHP13,801 for Western Visayas. Additionally, the income gap in the province narrowed to 9.1 percent in 2023, suggesting a reduction in the disparity between the incomes of the rich and the poor. Among the provinces in Western Visayas, Guimaras now holds the second-lowest poverty rate, surpassed only by Aklan, which stands at 4.6 percent.
