Northern Samar poverty drops sharply

TACLOBAN CITY — Northern Samar’s poverty incidence fell sharply in 2025, with nearly 12,000 fewer families classified as poor as more households moved toward greater economic security.

The Philippine Statistics Authority, in its 2025 Full-Year Official Poverty Statistics released 26 August 2026, reported that poverty incidence in Northern Samar dropped to 12.5 percent, the province’s lowest recorded rate.

Northern Samar had the fourth-lowest poverty incidence among the six provinces in Eastern Visayas. Southern Leyte posted the lowest at 3.4 percent, followed by Biliran at 7.8 percent, Leyte at 12.4 percent, Northern Samar at 12.5 percent, Samar at 15.7 percent and Eastern Samar at 20 percent.

The latest figure marks a significant improvement from Northern Samar’s poverty incidence of 21.8 percent in 2023 and 19.3 percent in 2021.

The provincial government said the estimated number of poor families declined from 31,530 in 2023 to 19,760 in 2025 — a reduction of about 11,770 families.

Former Northern Samar governor and now Second District Rep. Edwin Ongchuan attributed the improvement to the province’s constituents and development partners who worked together to advance its economic development goals.

“Almost 12,000 families in Northern Samar have crossed the threshold out of poverty — this milestone belongs to our farmers, fisherfolk, local officials, national line agencies, our development partners, and every Norte-Samarnon who kept working even when progress felt slow,” Ongchuan said in a statement.

Ongchuan also credited his successor, Gov. Harris Ongchuan, for sustaining programs and initiatives launched during his administration.