DROP IN SORSOGON POVERTY RATE CREDITED TO CHIZ-ERA REFORMS

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the family poverty rate in Sorsogon dropped to 15.1 percent in 2025 from 28.4 percent in 2023.

The decline was credited to the enduring impact of infrastructure and policy reforms put in place by Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero during his term as provincial governor.

Escudero, the former local chief executive from 2019 to 2022, praised the current provincial government’s progress but urged stronger livelihood programs, cooperative support, and expanded social protection to help more families rise above the poverty line.

He commended present Sorsogon Gov. Boboy Hamor for continuing and improving on the reforms that he has started.

“I commend Gov. Boboy Hamor and the provincial government for building on these gains and expanding the initiatives we started, especially those that support farmers, fisherfolk, and small entrepreneurs. I’m pleased that the reforms we worked on are now bearing fruit. The challenge now is continuity,” Escudero said.

Hamor credited Escudero with laying the groundwork for the province’s progress, citing his predecessor’s infrastructure projects, health investments, and peace initiatives as foundations for economic recovery.

“We are reaping the benefits of reforms that started years ago, and we will continue to strengthen programs that uplift Sorsoganons,” Hamor said.

According to the PSA, the nearly 50-percent drop in family poverty incidence means the number of impoverished families fell to 32,000 from 53,400.

The agency also reported last month that the individual poverty rate plummeted to 21.8 percent from 37.9 percent, reducing the number of poor individuals from 330,400 to 187,700.

Escudero’s tenure in Sorsogon sparked an infrastructure boom, among them the 15.6‑km. Sorsogon Coastal Road, the restoration of the Provincial Capitol, the establishment of Museo Sorsogon, and the rehabilitation of Bulusan Lake and Matnog tourism facilities.

He also broke ground on the P49.5‑million Sorsogon Cancer Treatment Center.

During the COVID‑19 lockdowns, Escudero accelerated road construction to stir employment and strengthened barangay‑level disaster preparedness. #

His leadership also supported peace and order programs, including a halfway house for rebel returnees and implemented barangay development projects under National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF‑ELCAC), which provided farm‑to‑market roads, water systems, electrification, and livelihood support.

The PSA noted that Sorsogon moved from Group 4 (20–30 percent poverty incidence) in 2023 to Group 5 (10–20 percent) in 2025, placing it below the Bicol regional average of 16.8 percent. 

By 2025, no province in the country registered poverty incidence above 30 percent.