This translates to an estimated 10.7 million families, which is slightly lower than the 11.4 million, or 45%, recorded in September last year.
Meanwhile, SWS said the poll found 39% of families considered themselves “borderline poor,” while 19% felt they are not poor.
“The 2-point decline in self-rated poor in the fourth quarter of 2021 was due to decreases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with slight increases in the Visayas and Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila),” the polling body explained.
It noted that compared to September 2021, the percentage of families who said they are poor fell in Mindanao from 58% to 43%, and in Metro Manila from 34% to 25%. However, it rose in the Visayas from 54% to 59%, and in Balance Luzon from 38% to 41%.
Of the self-rated poor families, around 6.9%, or 1.7 million, are “newly poor,” the SWS said. This means they rated themselves as non-poor a year to four years ago.
31% of families feel food-poor
SWS also reported 31% of families deemed themselves food-poor – a one-point increase from the figure last September.
The highest increase was observed in the Visayas, where 41% said they are food-poor, up from the 30% logged during the previous survey. The percentage also rose in Balance Luzon from 26% to 31%.
Meanwhile, self-rated food-poor families fell in Mindanao from 40% to 31%, and in Metro Manila from 24% to 21%.
Based on the poll results, 44% of families nationwide said they are borderline food-poor, while 24% considered themselves as not food-poor.
SWS said the non-commissioned survey was conducted from Dec. 12 to 16 among 1,440 adult respondents from across the country – 360 each from Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
It added that the sampling error margins are ±2.6% for national percentages, and ±5.2% for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 21) – Around 43% of Filipino families rated themselves as poor in December 2021, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Monday.
