The Philippine Statistics Authority — Regional Statistical Services Office I (PSA-RSSO l) conducted a data dissemination forum on the Full Year 2018 Official Poverty Statistics of Ilocos Region on January 24,2020 at Marand Resort and Spa, Baccuit Sur, Bauang La Union to disseminate the official poverty statistics of the region to the media and policymakers at the subnational level.

Undersecretary Dennis Claire S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General who graced the event, stressed that "The media people should disseminate the official poverty statistics so that much wider user/public can be reached. Local Chief Executives and other govemment heads and leaders should also appreciate and translate them into actual policy uses for the betterment of our countrymen. "

Atty. Sheila O. De Guzman, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of PSA-RSSO l, presented the Full Year 2018 Official Poverty Statistics of Ilocos Region.

Atty. De Guzman highlighted that, the 2018 poverty incidence among Filipino individuals in Ilocos Region, or the proportion of poor Filipinos whose per capita income is not sufficient to meet their basic food and non-food needs, was estimated at 9.7 percent. This translates to about505 thousand Filipinos in the region who lived below the poverty threshold estimated at PhP 11,237, on average, for a family of five per month in 2018. On the other hand, subsistence incidence among Filipino individuals in Ilocos Region, or the proportion of Filipinos whose income is not enough to meet even the basic food needs, was registered at 1.8 percent in 2018. The monthly food threshold for a family of five was estimated, on average, at PhP 7,944.

Moreover, Atty. De Guzman also informe that among families, the proportion of poor families in 2018 in Ilocos Region was estimated at 6.9 percent, which is equivalent to around 84 thousand families. The subsistence incidence among families was recorded at 1.0 percent, or around 12 thousand food poor families in 2018.

Prior to the presentation of the Full Year 2018 Official Poverty Statistics of Ilocos Region, Ms. Wilma A. Guillen, Assistant National Statistician (ANS) of the Social Sector Statistics Service (SSSS), explained the official poverty methodology to inform the participants on how the figures of the poverty statistics were computed and should be interpreted.

Mr. Donald James D. Gawe, Assistant Regional Director of the National Economic and Development Authority — Regional Office I (NEDA-RO l), read the statement of their office on the results of the 2018 Poverty Statistics of the region. He mentioned the events that happened in the region that contributed to the improvement of the region's Poverty Statistics in 2018.

About 80 participants from the different line agencies, Local Government Units (LGUs), media partners, private sectors, and PSA-RSSO I and Provincial Statistical Offices (PSOs) attended the data dissemination forum.

SGD. ATTY. SHEILA O. DE GUZMAN
(Chief Administrative Officer)
Officer-in-Charge