The national Social Weather Survey of September 29 – October 2, 2022, the first under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., found 49% of Filipino families rating themselves as Mahirap or Poor, 29% rating themselves as Borderline (by placing themselves on a horizontal line dividing Poor and Not Poor), and 21% rating themselves as Hindi Mahirap or Not Poor.
Compared to June 2022, the percentage of Poor Filipino families hardly moved from 48%, while Borderline families fell slightly from 31%, and Not Poor families stayed at 21%.
The estimated numbers of Self-Rated Poor Filipino families are 12.6 million in October 2022 and 12.2 million in June 2022.
SWS has measured Self-Rated Poverty (SRP) quarterly through face-to-face (F2F) surveys since 1992, except in the first three quarters of 2020 when F2F was not possible for lack of public transportation during the pandemic. SWS resumed the SRP surveys in the 4th quarter of 2020, up to the present.
Self-Rated Poor rises in all areas except in Balance Luzon
The 1-point rise in the nationwide Self-Rated Poor between June 2022 and October 2022 was due to slight increases in the Visayas, Metro Manila, and Mindanao, combined with a steady percentage in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila).
Compared to June 2022, Self-Rated Poor rose slightly in the Visayas from 64% to 68%, in Metro Manila from 41% to 44%, and in Mindanao from 62% to 64%. It stayed at 36% in Balance Luzon.
SWS: 49% of Filipino families feel Poor
On the other hand, Borderline fell slightly in the Visayas from 26% to 21%, in Mindanao from 31% to 28%, and in Balance Luzon from 36% to 35%. It hardly moved in Metro Manila from 22% to 23%.
At the same time, Not Poor hardly moved in Balance Luzon from 28% to 29%, in the Visayas from 10% to 11%, and in Mindanao from 7% to 8%. It fell in Metro Manila from 37% to 33%.
34% of families feel Food-Poor; 38% feel Food Borderline, and 28% feel Not Food-Poor
On Self-Rated Food Poverty, based on the type of food eaten by their families, the October 2022 survey found 34% of families rating themselves as Food-Poor, 38% rating themselves as Food Borderline (by placing themselves on the horizontal line dividing Food-Poor and Not Food-Poor), and 28% rating themselves Not Food-Poor.
Compared to June 2022, the percentage of Food-Poor families stayed at 34%, Food Borderline families fell slightly from 40%, and Not Food-Poor families rose slightly from 26%.
The estimated numbers of Self-Rated Food Poor Filipino families are 8.7 million in both October 2022 and June 2022.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.