Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) — A recent survey says fewer Filipino families considered themselves as poor, with the share of the respondents falling to 45% compared to a similar survey done in June when self-rated poverty was 48% of those polled.
In a separate statement on Sunday, acting Palace spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the results of the SWS survey showed progress in the government’s efforts to reopen the economy.
“The national Social Weather Survey of September 12-16, 2021, found 45% of Filipino families rating themselves as Mahirap or Poor, 34% rating themselves as Borderline Poor (by placing themselves on the horizontal line dividing Poor and Not Poor), and 21% rating themselves as Hindi Mahirap or Not Poor,” said the Social Weather Stations survey results released Nov. 27.
A similar survey conducted in June showed 48% of Filipino families rating themselves poor.
“The government believes that the increase in percentage of the vaccinated population and the drop in new COVID infections put us in a position to safely expand economic activities that will positively impact employment and reduce poverty,” Nograles said.
“The estimated numbers of Self-Rated Poor families are 11.4 million in September 2021 and 12.0 million in June 2021,” said SWS, which conducted the survey among 1,200 adults.
Looking at the numbers per region, SWS said the steepest decline of self-rated poor was in the Visayas (70% to 54%.), followed by Metro Manila (43% to 34%), but stayed the same in Balance Luzon — or areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila (38%)
The survey, conducted over the period Sept. 12-16, also noted the number of self-rated poverty rose in Mindano — from 51% to 58%.
Borderline poor numbers rose in all areas — Metro Manila from 19% to 30%, Balance Luzon from 28% to 32%, Visayas from 24% to 42% — except in Mindanao where it fell to 34% from 42% in June.
“Compared to June 2021, Not Poor hardly changed in all areas: it went from 7% to 4% in the Visayas, from 38% to 37% in Metro Manila, from 34% to 30% in Balance Luzon, and from 7% to 8% in Mindanao,” the pollster added.
The SWS also said that of the families who considered themselves poor, 1.7 million were Newly Poor, 1.2 million were Usually Poor, and 8.2 million were Always Poor.
The SWS said 30% of families rated themselves as food poor, while 44% considered themselves borderline food poor, and 26 said they were not food poor.
But there were also families who moved to being non-poor.
“Of the estimated 13.8 million Non-Poor families in September 2021, 3.5 million were Newly Non-Poor, 3.0 million were Usually Non-Poor, and 7.3 million were Always Non-Poor,” said the SWS.
In the June 2021 survey, 32% felt Food-Poor, 38% felt Borderline Food-Poor, and 29% felt Not Food-Poor.
