12.6 Million Pinoy Families Consider Themselves Poor – SWS

Almost half of adult Filipinos consider their families poor, a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) three months into the new administration showed.

Results of the Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 survey released on Thursday, Oct. 20, showed that self-rated poverty slightly increased from 48 percent in June to 49 percent, representing an increase from 12.2 million to 12.6 million poor families.

The latest self-rated poverty in the country was the highest since the 49 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in May 2021.

It was the highest since the 48 percent obtained in a survey conducted in June 2021.

On the other hand, the number of respondents who rated their families as “borderline poor” dropped from 31 percent to 29 percent, while those who said their families were “not poor” stayed at 21 percent.

SWS said the one-point rise in self-rated poverty between June and October 2022 was due to slight increases in Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, combined with the steady percentage in the rest of Luzon.

Self-rated poverty was highest among respondents in the Visayas at 68 percent from 64 percent, followed by those in Mindanao at 64 percent from 62 percent, Metro Manila at 44 percent from 41 percent and the rest of Luzon at 36 percent, same as the June survey.

Meanwhile, those who rated their families as “borderline poor” were highest among those in balance Luzon at 35 percent from 36 percent, followed by those in Mindanao at 28 percent from 31 percent, Metro Manila at 23 percent from 22 percent, and Visayas at 21 percent from 26 percent.

Respondents who said their families were “not poor” were highest in Metro Manila at 33 percent from 37 percent, followed by those in the rest of Luzon at 29 percent from 28 percent, Visayas at 11 percent from 10 percent, and Mindanao at eight percent from seven percent.

Of the estimated 12.6 million self-rated poor families, SWS said 7.7 percent or two million were “newly poor” or those who did not consider themselves as poor one to four years ago.

Some four percent or an estimated one million said their families were “usually poor,” while 37.7 percent or 9.6 million consider their families as “always poor.”

Food poor

The same survey found the number of Filipinos who consider their families as “food poor” – or those who rated themselves as poor based on the food that they eat – stayed at 34 percent.

This translates to 8.7 million families who considered themselves as “food poor,” SWS said.

Those who rated themselves as borderline “food poor” fell from 40 percent to 38 percent, while not “food poor” families increased from 26 percent to 28 percent.

Self-rated food poverty was highest among respondents in Mindanao at 50 percent from 45 percent, followed by those in the Visayas at 44 percent from 37 percent, Metro Manila at 33 percent from 31 percent, and rest of Luzon at 22 percent from 28 percent.

The survey had 1,500 respondents and an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percent for the national percentages.