(CNN Philippines) — More than half (51%) of Filipino families rated themselves as poor during the first three months of the year, according to a recent Social Weather Stations survey.
The figure is a slight drop from the 52% registered in the previous quarter, and 2014’s average of 54%. However, the rate has not dipped below 50% since June 2013.
Likewise, when grouped according to loction, the Visayas and Mindanao regions saw self-rated poverty rates at 70% and 60%, respectively. The National Capital Region (NCR) and the rest of Luzon were much better off, chalking up respective figures of 31% and 44%.
Related: Joblessness falls to 19.1% — SWS
SWS also conducted a survey that asked families to rate their poverty level based on the type of food they eat. The organization found that the rate sits marginally lower at 36%. The figure is a decline from the 41% of the previous quarter and 2014’s same median rate of 41%.
The organization adds that the food-based poverty metric fell to record lows in NCR and the rest of Luzon, registering respective figures at 15% and 20%. Such was not the case for Visayas and Mindanao, with significantly higher rates at 45% and 52%.
Read: Income shouldn’t end with a salary
The poll also found that residents from Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon peg the poverty threshold at P15,000. The SWS defines the metric as the monthly budget a household would need in order for it not to consider itself poor in general. “The minimum home budget is less than the minimum income that it needs because it excludes work-related expenses, like transportation.”
Visayas and Mindanao posted similar thresholds of P10,000.
The self-rated poverty threshold for food — the minimum amount of money a household needs for food to not consider itself food-poor — chalked up a record high of P6,000 in Luzon, excluding Metro Manila. NCR, on the other hand, posted a threshold of P9,000, while Visayas and Mindanao registered figures of P4,750 and P5,000, respectively.
