SWS: 46% of Filipino families or 12.9M feel poor, minimal change from December 2023

About 46% of Filipino families or 12.9 million rate themselves as poor while 30% consider themselves Borderline while 23% say they are not poor, according to the First Quarter 2024 Social Weather Survey( SWS) that was conducted last March 2024.

The figure is not far from the December 2023 results that showed 47% of Filipino families rate themselves poor while 33% see themselves as Borderline (by placing themselves on a horizontal line dividing Poor and Not Poor), and families that do not consider themselves poor ar at 20%.

According to the SWS, the estimated numbers of Self-Rated Poor families were 12.9 million in March 2024 and 13.0 million in December 2023.

"To arrive at the estimated numbers of Self-Rated Poor families, the percentage of respondent households rating themselves as poor was applied to the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2024 and 2023, respectively."

The SWS has measured Self-Rated Poverty (SRP) quarterly through face-to-face surveys since 1992, except in the first three quarters of 2020 when F2F was not possible due to the lack of public transportation during the pandemic. SWS resumed the SRP surveys in the fourth quarter of 2020, up to the present.

The First Quarter 2024 Social Weather Survey was conducted from March 21-25, 2024, using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide with 600 in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), and 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4.0% for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Self-Rated Poor falls slightly in Mindanao and Metro Manila, rises in the Visayas

The SWS explained that the 1-point decline in the nationwide Self-Rated Poor figure between December 2023 and March 2024 was due to slight decreases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with an increase in the Visayas and a steady score in Balance Luzon.

As of March 2024, the percentage of Self-Rated Poor families was highest in the Visayas at 64%, followed by Mindanao at 56%, Balance Luzon at 38%, and Metro Manila at 33%.

Compared to December 2023, Self-Rated Poor fell slightly in Mindanao from 61% and Metro Manila from 37%. However, it rose in the Visayas from 58% and hardly changed in Balance Luzon from 39%.

Those who answere "Borderline" fell in the Visayas from 35% to 25% which showed hardly any change in Metro Manila from 29% to 27%, Balance Luzon from 34% to 31%, and Mindanao from 32% to 35%.

For those who consider themselves "Not Poor," the figure increased in Metro Manila from 35% to 41%, but there was vey minimal change in Balance Luzon from 27% to 30%, the Visayas from 7% to 11%, and Mindanao from 6% to 9%.

Salf-rated Food Poverty

Based on the type of food eaten by their families, the March 2024 survey found 33% of families rating themselves as Food-Poor, 36% rating themselves as Food Borderline (by placing themselves on the horizontal line dividing Food-Poor and Not Food-Poor), and 31% rating themselves Not Food-Poor.

Compared to December 2023, the percentage of Food-Poor families hardly changed from 32%, while Food Borderline families fell slightly from 41%, and Not Food-Poor families rose slightly from 26%.

The estimated number of Self-Rated Food-Poor families was 9.3 million in March 2024 and 8.9 million in December 2023.

Food-Poor rises in the Visayas and Metro Manila, hardly changes in Balance Luzon and Mindanao

The 1-point increase in the nationwide percentage of Self-Rated Food-Poor from December 2023 to March 2024 was due to increases in the Visayas and Metro Manila, combined with slight changes in Balance Luzon and Mindanao, the SWS said.

As of March 2024, the percentage of Self-Rated Food-Poor families was highest in the Visayas at 46%, followed by Mindanao at 44%, Metro Manila at 28%, and Balance Luzon at 24%.

Compared to December 2023, Self-Rated Food-Poor rose in the Visayas from 38% and Metro Manila from 24%. However, it hardly moved in Balance Luzon from 27% and Mindanao from 43%.

For Food Borderline, the figure fell in Metro Manila from 37% to 31%, Balance Luzon from 40% to 34%, and the Visayas from 44% to 35% but there was barely any change in Mindanao from 45% to 44%.

The Not Food-Poor rose in Balance Luzon from 33% to 42% but the figure hardly changed in Metro Manila from 40% to 41% and the Visayas from 18% to 19%, while it stayed at 12% in Mindanao.

Self-Rated Poverty Threshold

"In the last nine quarters, the national median Self-Rated Poverty Threshold (SRP Threshold) stayed at P15,000, while the national median Self-Rated Poverty Gap (SRP Gap) fell from P7,000 in December 2023 to P5,000 in March 2024," the SWS reported.

The SWS explained that the SRP Threshold, or the minimum monthly budget self-rated poor families say they need for home expenses in order not to consider themselves poor, has remained sluggish for several years despite considerable inflation. This indicates that poor families have been lowering their living standards, or practised belt-tightening.

In Metro Manila, the median SRP Threshold rose from P20,000 in December 2023 to a record-high P25,000 in March 2024, while the median SRP Gap stayed at P10,000.

In Balance Luzon, the median SRP Threshold stayed at P15,000, while the median SRP Gap stayed at P6,000 while in the Visayas, the median SRP Threshold stayed at P15,000, while the median SRP Gap stayed at P5,000.

In Mindanao, the median SRP Threshold fell from P15,000 to P10,000, while the median SRP Gap fell from P7,000 to P5,000.

"In the past, the median SRP Gap has generally been half of the median SRP Threshold. This means that typical poor families lack about half of what they need to not consider themselves poor. An increase in the proportion of the median SRP Gap relative to the median SRP Threshold means a worsening in families’ budget for home expenses," said SWS.

Self-Rated Food Poverty Threshold

The SWS showed that the national median Self-Rated Food Poverty Threshold (SRFP Threshold) stayed at P8,000 in the past five quarters, while the national median Self-Rated Food Poverty Gap (SRFP Gap) stayed at P3,000 in the past ten quarters.

In Metro Manila, the median SRFP Threshold stayed at P10,000 from December 2023 to March 2024, while the median SRFP Gap stayed at P5,000, while in Balance Luzon, the median SRFP Threshold rose from P8,000 to P9,000, while the median SRFP Gap stayed at P3,000.

In the Visayas, the median SRFP Threshold rose from P6,000 to P10,000, while the median SRFP Gap rose from P3,000 to P4,000 but in Mindanao, the median SRFP Threshold fell from P8,000 to P5,000, while the median SRFP Gap fell from P3,000 to P2,000.

Newly poor

The March 2024 survey asked the Self-Rated Poor if they had ever experienced being non-poor (either not poor or borderline) in the past.

The survey showed that 6.0% families were non-poor or newly poort one to four years ago while 5.3% were non-poor or usually poor five or more years ago, and 34.9% who never experienced being non-poor or always Poor.

"Of the estimated 12.9 million Self-Rated Poor families in March 2024, 1.7 million were Newly Poor, 1.5 million were Usually Poor, and 9.7 million were Always Poor."

"Conversely, the survey asked those who were Self-Rated Non-Poor (either Borderline or Not Poor) if they had ever experienced being poor in the past. The total percentage of non-poor families consists of 15.6% who were poor 1-4 years ago (“Newly Non-Poor”), 10.1% who were poor five or more years ago (“Usually Non-Poor”), and 27.8% who never experienced being poor (“Always Non-Poor”)," the SWS showed.

"Of the estimated 14.9 million Self-Rated Non-Poor families in March 2024, 4.3 million were Newly Non-Poor, 2.8 million were Usually Non-Poor, and 7.7 million were Always Non-Poor," SWS added. — BAP, GMA Integrated News