OCTA survey: Filipinos more concerned on inflation than Cha-cha

Controlling the increase in prices of basic goods and services was the most urgent national concern for the majority of adult Filipinos in the fourth quarter of 2023 while Charter change was not as important, a recent survey conducted by OCTA Research found.

The Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey found that 73% of adult Filipinos said controlling inflation — which clocked in at 3.9% in December 2023 to bring last year’s full-year average to 6.0% — was the top urgent concern.

“Across all major areas, controlling the increase in prices of basic goods and services emerges as the most urgent national concern for adult Filipinos,” OCTA Research said.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 male and female adult respondents from December 10 to 14, 2023. It had a ±3% margin of error at the national level, and ±6% for Metro Manila, balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao with a 95% confidence level.

The latest results indicate a 21 percentage point increase from the 52% in July 2023, when inflation was recorded at 4.7%.

December was the only month that inflation fell within the government’s 2.0% to 4.0% target range, with the central bank projecting this to decelerate this year to average 3.7%.

Broken down, 34% ranked controlling inflation as their first most urgent concern, 25% ranked it as second, and 14% ranked it as third.

The concern was seen as the most in Mindanao, where 82% of adult Filipinos said it was the most pressing, surpassing other major regions.

Controlling inflation was followed by access to affordable food like rice, vegetables, and meat as the second most urgent concern with 45%, based on results of the TNM survey.

Food inflation came in at 10.0% in December, with rice being the main culprit as prices grew by 17.9%, the fastest since March 2009 when it hit 22.9%.

The third most pressing concern was creating more jobs, with 36% of respondents citing it as their top issue, while improving or increasing wages or salaries of workers came in fourth with 34%.

Latest government data show that there were 1.83 million jobless Filipinos in November 2023, down from 2.09 million in October, and 2.18 million in November 2022.

Other concerns were reducing poverty with 32%, providing free quality education with 15%, fighting graft and corruption in government with 13%, promoting peace and order with 10%, and fighting criminality with 8%.

These were followed by enforcing the law on all with 7%, reducing the amount of taxes with 6%, protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, preparing to face terrorist threats, and stopping the abuse of the environment with 4% each.

Charter change

Meanwhile, changing the 1987 Constitution was not seen as a major concern, with only 1% of the respondents identifying it as a priority during the survey.

READ: Cha-cha via people’s initiative: How it works and why it’s not as easy as it seems

To recall, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez last year said 2024 is the right time to push for Charter change, and said he was keen on launching a people’s referendum to determine how Congress should vote on proposals amending the 1987 Constitution.

House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list representative France Castro has already called for a probe on the ongoing campaign, citing instances of supposed signature buying as these were reportedly done alongside the distirbution of government aid and gifts.

Senator Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos had also filed a resolution seeking a Senate review on the efficacy of Republic Act 6735, a law providing for a system of initiative and referendum amid reported efforts to gather signatures to push for an amendment to the 1987 Constitution. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News