DIPOLOG CITY, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines – A majority of the country’s 20 poorest provinces, including this Zamboanga Peninsula local government unit (LGU), are located in Mindanao, a latest survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed.
An NSO report identified the 11 Southern Philippine provinces in its list of 20 poorest LGUs as Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Agusan del Sur, Sulu, Surigao del Sur, Sarangani and Lanao del Norte.
Completing the NSO list are Apayao, Northern Samar, Masbate, Abra, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Negros Oriental.
The NSO said the survey largely took note of the poverty incidence and magnitude of households living below the poverty line.
Meanwhile, the Region 9 office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) based in Zamboanga City reported that Zamboanga del Norte has remained the poorest province in Western Mindanao since 2003.