Manila: Northern Samar's provincial government welcomed the record-low decline in the province's poverty rate, saying the improvement provides a strong foundation for sustaining and expanding its poverty-reduction programs.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) 2025 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics, released on August 26, showed that the proportion of poor families in Northern Samar dropped to 12.5 percent, the lowest recorded level for the province.

The figure represents a significant improvement from 21.8 percent in 2023 and 19.3 percent in 2021. The estimated number of poor families also decreased from 31,530 in 2023 to 19,760 in 2025, translating to approximately 11,770 fewer families living below the poverty threshold.

Northern Samar's provincial government stated that reaching this lowest level marks a milestone, but it should not be seen as the endpoint of the province's poverty-reduction efforts. The key challenge is two-fold: maintaining the momentum that resulted in this improvement and ensuring that families who have risen out of poverty do not revert to their previous status, while offering more targeted interventions in areas where poverty is still prevalent.

The provincial administration highlighted the importance of enhancing current initiatives by strengthening livelihood and employment opportunities and improving access to basic services.

For 2025, the PSA reported Northern Samar's annual per capita poverty threshold at PHP36,450.64, which is approximately PHP3,038 per person per month.

Northern Samar recorded the fourth-lowest family poverty incidence among the six provinces of Eastern Visayas, just behind Leyte at 12.4 percent. Southern Leyte registered the region's lowest rate at 3.4 percent, followed by Biliran at 7.8 percent. Samar recorded 15.7 percent, while Eastern Samar logged 20 percent.