SWS: Almost half of Filipino families rate themselves 'poor'

The number of Filipinos who rated themselves poor increased to 13.2 million or 48% in September from 12.5 million or 45% last June, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showed.

The non-commissioned SWS survey, conducted from September 28 to October 1, also revealed that 27% of Filipinos viewed themselves as "borderline."
The remaining 25% considered themselves not poor.

The three-point rise in the nationwide self-rated poor figure between June and September 2023 was due to increases in all areas, with Mindanao recording the highest increase in families who rated themselves poor at 71%, which is a seven-point increase from the previous 54%.

Self-rated poor families in Balance Luzon also jumped to 39% from 35%, while self-rated poor families in Metro Manila also climbed to 38% from 35%.

Likewise, self-rated poor families in the Visayas increased to 59% from 57%.

“We note that the survey was conducted after a series of typhoons hit the country, which also affected food prices. This could have resulted in feelings of insecurity among the families who were directly affected by the typhoon and those who did not have the means to cope with the increase in prices,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said in a text message.

“Government prioritizes policies and programs to generate more and better-quality jobs, which is the robust way to reduce poverty,” Edillon said.

Newly poor

The same SWS survey also showed that of the 13.2 million Filipino families who rated themselves poor, 1.8 million or 6.6% rated themselves as newly poor, 1.7 million or 6.1% were usually poor and 9.7 million or 35.3% were always poor

SWS defined newly poor as those who were non-poor one to four years ago, while usually poor are those who were non-poor five or more years ago.

Always poor, on the other hand, was defined as those who never experienced being non-poor.

The survey also showed that of the 14.3 million families who responded they were borderline or not poor, five million or 8.9% said they were newly non-poor.

It also showed that 2.4 million or 8.9% said they were usually not poor, while 6.8 million or 24.9% said they were always non-poor.

SWS defined newly non-poor as those who were poor one to four years ago, while those usually not poor were poor five or more years ago.

The always non-poor is defined as those who never experienced being poor.

On the edge

The percentage of borderline families decreased by six points from 33% in June, while the not poor families slightly increased to 25% from 22% in June.

Those in the borderline in Metro Manila and Visayas also rose to 29% and 32%, respectively, from 23% and 28% in June.

While the percentage of non-poor families in Balance Luzon increased to 40% from 23%, the figures nosedived for the rest of the country.

The self-rated non-poor families in Metro Manila fell to 33% from 42%.

Self-rated non-poor families in the Visayas, meanwhile, also went down to 8% from 15% in June.

In Mindanao, non-poor families only reached 4% from 13% in June.

In estimating the number of self-rated poor families, SWS said the percentage of respondent households rating themselves as poor was applied to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) medium-population projections for 2023.

The third quarter 2023 SWS poll was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults aged 18 years old and above nationwide, with 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.8% for national percentages, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The area estimates were weighted by the PSA medium-population projections for 2023 to obtain the national estimates.

Edillon said the government’s programs to reduce poverty include “expanding our markets, improving our infrastructure, attracting more strategic investments while preparing the workforce with the required skills for the jobs to be created.”

The NEDA official said that while these will require sufficient time, “the government has already instituted measures to accelerate these, like the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, designation of green lanes for strategic investments, mainstreamed processes for project approvals, etc.”

“Moreover, there are programs intended to modernize agriculture, improve productivity and the linkage to markets,” she said.

“For the short-term, government is rolling out the food stamp program to benefit the poorest of the poor; removal of pass-through fees for vehicles transporting goods, distribution of cash aid under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance program; in addition to the ongoing assistance programs,” she added.

The NEDA official noted that during times of calamities, all of government at the national and local levels, also with the help of the private sector, stand ready to provide immediate relief and other necessary actions. —with Ted Cordero/KBK/BM, GMA Integrated News