LUNA, Apayao – The number of individuals living in poverty in Apayao has significantly decreased to 5.44% of the total population, which amounts to 124,366 residents, according to the Preliminary 2023 First Semester Official Poverty Statistics bared by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on December 22, 2023.
This places Apayao in the fourth (4th) position among provinces exhibiting low poverty incidence rates, trailing only behind Ilocos Norte, Pampanga, and Siquijor.
In 2023, Apayao ascended to cluster 5, indicating its inclusion among the provinces with the most minimal poverty rates nationwide. This is a considerable improvement from its previous designation in Cluster 4 in 2021, boasting a poverty rate of 12.6%, and Cluster 3 in 2018, where it reported a poverty incidence rate of 23.2%.
Concurrently, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has also registered a decrease in the prevalence of impoverished families, declining to 9.4% in the initial six months of 2023, down from 12.1% in the first semester of 2021, and 13.8% in the corresponding period of 2018. This positions CAR alongside the National Capital Region (NCR) and Region IV – Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (CALABARZON).
Moreover, the proportion of poor Filipinos has seen a reduction to 22.4% in the first six months of 2023, contrasting with the 23.7% recorded during the corresponding period in 2021. Nationally, there were 25.24 million impoverished Filipinos in the initial semester of 2023, exhibiting a decrease from the 26.14 million recorded in the first six months of 2021, yet surpassing the 22.26 million figure documented during the same period in 2018. By Jc Marquez
