ZAMBOANGA CITY – A whopping 71.71% poverty magnitude was registered in Isabela City based on the results of the Listahanan 3 household assessment which commenced in 2019. Its poverty magnitude is also considered to be the highest among the component cities in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Specifically, out of its 20,597 households assessed, 14,771 were identified to be poor.

The City of Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte ranks second with a 62.6% poverty magnitude or 10,810 poor households out of the 17,261 assessed.

Located in the same province, the City of Dipolog is in third spot with 50.6% (11,121 poor households out of the 21,984 assessed), followed by Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur at 28% or 8,884 poor households out of the 31,700 assessed.

In Isabela City, for every 10 poor households, about 2 do not have access to electricity.

1,623 or 11.0% of their poor households use kerosene as their source of lighting.

Meanwhile, poor households that solely use fuelwood for cooking comprise 12,583 or 85.2% of the identified poor.

Seven out of 10 households are living in poverty. The top 10 barangays in Isabela City with the highest poverty magnitude are as follows:

Last Monday, June 19, the National Household Targeting Section (NHTS) conducted an orientation with the local government’s City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and presented the findings and results of the Listahanan 3 household assessment in Zamboanga Peninsula and in Isabela City, Basilan.

The presentation also provided an overview of the assessment methodology, its scope, and its coverage.

The significant trends and key findings from the assessment, emphasizing the identification of vulnerable populations and their specific needs, were also highlighted.

 

In photo: NHTS with staff from the City Mayor’s Office and CSWDO during the conduct of orientation on data sharing guidelines

The NHTS highly encouraged the LGU through its CSWDO to enter into a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) with the field office, to be able to access the personal information and sensitive personal information, and other relevant data of the identified poor households that they may utilize in policy planning and program implementation.

The guidelines for data utilization were thoroughly discussed by the NHTS with those who were in attendance during the activity. ###