Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 14) — Around two in five Filipinos are welcoming 2018 with optimism, according to a September 2017 study by Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Among 1,500 Filipino adults surveyed, 47 percent said they expected their lives to improve in the next 12 months and 4 percent expected it to get worse, for a net score of 42 percent, which SWS classified as “Excellent.”
This is up from the 40 percent (Excellent) registered in June 2017.
The SWS said the rise was due to the nine-point increase in Mindanao from June 2017 to 46 percent, the six-point increase in Metro Manila to 52 percent and the three-point increase in the Visayas to 39 percent.
These offset the three-point drop in parts of Luzon outside of Metro Manila, to 39 percent.
However, only 19 percent of respondents (Very High) believed their lives got better in the past 12 months, with 39 percent saying it improved and 19 percent saying it worsened.
This is up from the 17 percent (Very High) recorded in June 2017 and matches the record-high 19 percent recorded in September 2016.
The SWS said the increase was due to the 18-point jump in Mindanao to 31 percent and the three-point increase in Metro Manila to 17 percent.
The rest of Luzon remained steady at 20 percent, but Visayas dropped 12 points to 7 percent.
In addition, the survey found that 43 percent of respondents believed the economy would improve next year, while 12 percent felt it would deteriorate, for a net score of 30 percent (Excellent).
This is up from the 27 percent (Excellent) recorded in June 2017.
The SWS said the hike was due to the 17-point jump in Mindanao to 51 percent and the three-point increase in Metro Manila to 30 percent.
Meanwhile, economic optimism remained at 23 percent in the rest of Luzon, but decreased by three points to 24 percent in Visayas.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Thursday Palace press briefing that these numbers are consistent with the country’s “high economic growth,” along with recent events.
“People have reasons to be optimistic as Marawi is liberated and growth performance of the Philippines is expected to be sustained,” he said. “Having said this, we urge businesses and entrepreneurs to continue investing, increasing productivity, improving services and creating employment opportunities, while government does its part in improving business and governance.”
The country’s gross domestic product — which represents the total value of all the goods and services produced in the Philippines within a certain period and serves as a gauge of a country’s economic health — was recorded at 6.9 percent for the third quarter due to stronger exports and better government spending.
Read: PH economy grows 6.9% in third quarter
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said in November 2017 that the government is “confident” that it will meet its 6.5-to-7.5 percent target for 2017.
