Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Fewer Filipinos considered themselves poor in 2016 compared to any other year on record.
According to the Social Weather Stations (SWS), the average self-rated poverty for Filipinos hit a record low 44% in 2016.
The fourth quarter result was 44% which is equivalent to 10 million Filipinos who thought they were poor. While this was a slight increase from 42% for the third quarter, it put the average annual self-rated poverty rate at 44%– the lowest in the SWS survey history. The first quarter score in April was 46%.
The average 2016 rate was six points below the 2015 score. It also surpassed the previous record in 1987 at 47%.
This development is in line with recent trends in self-poverty rates. According to SWS, the quarterly rate “has either been steady or declining for nine consecutive quarters” since December 2014.
But while annual self-rated poverty was at a record low, SWS noted there were also some Filipinos who didn’t think they were better off in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The survey revealed that while self-rated poverty was down in Metro Manila and Mindanao in the fourth quarter, more Filipinos in Balance Luzon thought themselves to be poorer in the fourth quarter of 2016 than those in the third quarter.
According to the survey, there was an 8-point increase of self-rated poor Filipinos in Balance Luzon, where numbers increased from 34% in September to 42% in December.
Still, residents in Metro Manila and Mindanao were more optimistic.
The self-rated poverty in Metro Manila dropped five points from 36% in September to 31% in December. Mindanao dipped two points from 49% to 47%.
Scores for the Visayas remained the same with more than half, or 56% of respondents in the region considering themselves poor.
The survey also showed 34% of respondents- or an estimated 7.7 million families- considered themselves “food poor,” meaning they thought the type of food they ate was for poor people.
This is up four points from the 30%, or 6.7 million families, who considered themselves “food-poor” in September. However, it also placed the average self-rated food poverty rate for 2016 at 32%, another record low from the previous record at 35% in 2015.
The SWS report also reported Metro Manila residents who rated themselves poor said they would need at least ₱18,000 per month to not to be called poor.
The figure was pegged at ₱10,000 in “Balance Luzon,” the Visayas and Mindanao.
The same batch of residents also said they ₱10,000 per month to not to be considered “food-poor” in Metro Manila, while ₱4,000 would be needed in Mindanao, and ₱5,000 in “Balance Luzon” and the Visayas.
SWS conducted the fourth quarter survey from December 3 to 6 through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide. It has a sampling margin of ±3 points for national percentages, ±4 for “Balance Luzon” and ±6 points for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.
