Google map of Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte.
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Zamboanga Peninsula (DSWD-9) has identified Sibuco town in Zamboanga del Norte province as the “poorest” in the region.
In a statement Monday, the DSWD-9 said Sibuco, through the Listahanan 3 project, registered a poverty magnitude of 91.41 percent based on the household assessment whose goal is to identify the country’s poor areas.
“Out of the 7,983 households assessed in Sibuco, 7,297 are categorized as poor,” the DSWD-9 said, citing data showing that nine out of 10 households in Sibuco municipality are living below the poverty line.
DSWD said 10 of the 29 villages are considered the poorest villages with poverty magnitude ranging from over 95 percent to more than 98 percent.
Sibuco, comprising 29 barangays, is a first-class town in Zamboanga del Norte province with 36,049 population as of the 2020 census.
It is the second time Sibuco was identified as the poorest municipality since 2015 through the Listahanan 2. The town was also identified poorest in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Meanwhile, Mumar Ibbin, DSWD-9’s Listahanan information officer, identified the other poorest towns of the region as Sirawai with an 85 percent poverty magnitude; Godod, 85.2 percent; Siayan, 84 percent; and Siocon, 83.7 percent.
Among the component urban centers in the region, Isabela City registered a 71.71 percent poverty magnitude based on the results of the Listahanan 3 household assessment.
Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte ranked second with 62.6 percent; Dipolog City, also in Zamboanga del Norte, in third spot with 50.6 percent; and Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur, at 28 percent. (PNA)
