PSA QUEZON CONDUCTS PHILSYS ORIENTATION SEMINAR FOR PACIFIC MALL TENANTS

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Quezon Provincial Statistical Office conducted a seminar on November 27, 2024, at 3rd Floor Activity Center of Pacific Mal, Lucena City, Quezon, to promote awareness about the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) among mall tenants.

It was attended by 88 participants comprising owners, tenants’ representatives, Pacific Mall officials, and marketing team members.

One of the PhilSys advocacy campaigns is to raise awareness through the conduct of orientation to the relying parties such as mall tenants to discuss the benefits of being PhilSys-registered and having a National ID.

The seminar also focused on the use and acceptance of the three (3) formats of National ID, the National ID (printed on PVC card), the ePhilID (printed on paper), and the Digital National ID that can be accessed through the link, national-id.gov.ph. An actual demonstration on how to download the Digital National ID was also presented during the seminar to familiarize tenants’ representatives on the verification process in relation to their respective transactions. Tenants were also advised and reminded to always check the authenticity of National ID being presented by clients using the National ID check application through everify.gov.ph.

Moreover, the seminar covered various PhilSys services, including the registration of newborns and below one year old, registration of children 1-4 years old and 5 years old above. Documentary requirements of the clients and parents were also discussed during the orientation. Other services included the updating and correction, request for replacement of peeled-off/damaged PhilID card, same day release of ePhilID upon successful registration, Transaction Reference Number verification and the delivery of Return To Sender PhilID card were addressed.

Additionally, clients were reminded that duplicate PhilSys registrations may invalidate authentication. It was also emphasized that,person, entity or relying parties who refuse to accept or recognize any format of PhilID without just and sufficient cause is punishable under Republic Act No. 11055.

Vanessa O. Rabuel

POVERTY INCIDENCE OF QUEZON PROVINCE DECLINES TO 6.9 PERCENT IN 2023

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has released updates on the 2023 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics, based on preliminary results of the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES). It was initially published on July 22, 2024 covering data at the national-level. Estimates of poverty disaggregated at the regional, provincial, and highly urbanized city levels are included in the updated report.

Poverty Threshold is the minimum income needed for a family/individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements. In 2023, a family with five members in Quezon province needed at least PhP 12,108 per month to meet their minimum basic food and non-food needs. Notably, Quezon had the lowest poverty threshold among the provinces in CALABARZON, below the regional average of Php 15,457 and national average of Php 13,873.

The average poverty threshold in 2023 increased by 7.0% from Php11,313 in 2021, and by 27.4% from the pre-pandemic level of Php9,502.

In 2018, poverty incidence among families in the province was estimated at 9.3 percent. It grew to 16.3 percent in 2021 and declined to 6.9 percent in 2023. The 6.9 percent poverty incidence in 2023 means that 69 out of 1,000 families in province do not have enough income to meet their basic food and non-food needs.

In terms of magnitude, the number of poor families in Quezon province decreased significantly from 89.04 thousand in 2021 to 39.01 thousand in 2023, a drop of 50.03 thousand or 56.0 percent.

Excluding Lucena City, Quezon’s poverty incidence in 2023 was at 7.5 percent, equivalent to 37.04 thousand poor families.  Among population, poverty incidence in Quezon province was posted at 10.2 percent which means that 102 for every 1,000 individuals in the province were considered poor. This represents a significant decline from 21.6 percent in 2021. The total number of poor individuals decreased from 493,000 to 237,700, a reduction of 255,300.

Quezon province (excluding Lucena City) reported a poverty incidence of 11.0% among its population in 2023, equivalent to 223,540 poor residents.

Jerissa P. Milo

QUEZON'S INFLATION RATE INCREASES TO 4.1 PERCENT IN OCTOBER 2024

The headline inflation or overall inflation in Quezon increased to 4.1 percent in October 2024, from 3.3 percent in September 2024. This brings the average inflation rate of the province from January to October 2024 to 3.5 percent. In October 2023, inflation rate was lower at 2.1 percent.

The increase in the overall inflation in October 2024 was primarily influenced by the faster annual increment in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.9 percent during the month, from an annual increase of 5.0 percent in September 2024.

Emerose A. Dalwampo

LUCENA CITY'S INFLATION RATE GROWS BY 4.0 PERCENT IN OCTOBER 2024

The headline inflation or overall inflation in Lucena City increased to 4.0 percent in October 2024, from 3.5 percent in September 2024. This brings the average inflation rate of the city from January to October 2024 to 3.8 percent. In October 2023, inflation rate was lower at 2.7 percent.

The upward movement in the overall inflation in October 2024 was primarily influenced by the faster annual increment in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.2 percent during the month, from an annual increase of 3.7 percent in September 2024.

Emerose A. Dalwampo

QUEZON’S ECONOMY RECORDS A 5.3 PERCENT INCREASE IN 2023

The economy of Quezon grew by 5.3 percent in 2023 from its 2022 level, slower than the 7.7 percent growth in the previous year. This represents an increase in the value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from PhP 217.82 billion in 2022 to PhP 229.39 billion in 2023. (Figure 1)

Among the 16 industries, the fastest growths were observed in Other services with 30.7 percent, followed by Accommodation and food service activities with 19.8 percent, and Construction with 13.6 percent. On the other hand Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, experienced negative growth at 4.5 percent.

Irene Joyce A. Avila

CITY OF LUCENA’S ECONOMY CONTINUES TO INCREASE WITH 8.9 PERCENT GROWTH IN 2023

The economy of City of Lucena grew by 8.9 percent in 2023 from its level in 2022, a continuous increase from the 7.7 percent growth in 2022 and 4.3 percent growth in 2021. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the City of Lucena was estimated at PhP 50.79 billion. (Figure 1)

Among the 16 industries, the fastest growing industries were observed in Other services which includes Arts, culture and recreational activities, personal services among other services at 35.9 percent. This was followed by Accommodation and food services activities at 25.3 percent, and Construction at 14.2 percent.

On the other hand, only the Agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry experienced negative growth of 9.6 percent.

Moreover, of the six economies in CALABARZON, the City of Lucena registered the highest economic growth rate in 2023. Cavite and Rizal followed with 6.7 percent and 5.7 percent growth rates, respectively. These three economies together with Quezon posted growth rates higher than the regional growth rate of 5.2 percent.

Irene Joyce A. Avila