Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 13) — Seventy-one percent of adult Filipinos said their families have been given financial assistance by the government since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, based on a Social Weather Stations survey conducted from Sept. 17 to 20.
This figure barely differed from July 2020 results, wherein 72 percent of Filipino families were found to have obtained cash aid.
The September poll showed that 67 percent of those who received money did so once, while 29 percent received aid twice. Two percent received money thrice, while one percent were given aid four times, and 0.21 percent for five times.
On average, families nationwide received a total of ₱7,531 amid the crisis, the poll found. This is ₱943 above the average total of ₱6,588.17 reported in July, SWS noted.
Results also revealed Metro Manila residents received more cash aid from the government than residents from any other area across the country.
“The proportion of those whose families received money-help from government was highest in Metro Manila (82%), followed by the Visayas (73%), Balance Luzon (70%), and Mindanao (64%),” SWS wrote. Balance Luzon refers to areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila.
The independent pollster added that the average amount of aid was also highest in the capital region at ₱11,024. This is followed by Balance Luzon with an average of ₱7,481, the Visayas with ₱6,833, and Mindanao with ₱5,664.
In a related finding, more families in urban areas likewise received financial help compared to rural areas.
The survey was conducted using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing of 1,249 adult Filipinos. The SWS said the area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2020 to obtain the national estimates.
