THE number of Filipino families who rated themselves poor continued to increase for the third straight month this year at 52 percent or around 14.4 million, the March 15 to 20 survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.
The Stratbase Consultancy Group- commissioned survey, which involved 1,800 adult respondents nationwide with a margin of error of ±2.31 percent, showed a continuing increase since January from 50 percent, up by one percent in February to 51 percent, and another one percent in March to 52 percent.
SWS said self-rated poor families was highest in Mindanao at 60 percent (down from 65 percent), followed by the Visayas at 62 percent (up from 57 percent), Luzon at 46 percent (up from 43 percent) and the National Capital region (NCR) at 41 percent (down from 46 percent).
It also found that 36 percent, unchanged since January, continue to rate themselves as not poor, while 12 percent said they are borderline or the line dividing the poor and not poor.
Those on the borderline had been dropping since the start of the year, from 14 percent in January and 13 percent in February.
SWS said self-rated hunger, or being unable to eat at least once in the last three months, also continued to rise among the self-rated poor since January, with a sharp increase to 35.6 percent in March from 26.4 percent in February and 22.3 percent in January.
At least 27 percent said they experienced moderate hunger in the last three months (up from 19.6 percent in February and 17.9 percent in January) and 8.5 percent (up from 6.7 percent and 4.4 percent) experienced severe hunger.
SWS defined moderate hunger as those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months, while severe hunger referred to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months.
The polling firm said hunger also rose among the non-poor families at 18.3 percent (14.5 percent moderate hunger and 3.9 percent severe hunger) from 16.2 percent in February and 10 percent in January.
