AT least 11.4 million Filipino families rated themselves as poor, an improvement from the 12 million families who felt the same way in June, the third quarter survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from September 12 to 16 showed.
The survey, which involved 1,200 adult respondents nationwide with a margin of error of ±3 percent, showed that 45 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as poor, down by three points from 48 percent in June.
The survey also found that 34 percent (up from 29 percent in June) said they consider their families as borderline poor or within the dividing line between being poor and not poor, while 21 percent (down from 23 percent) said they are not poor.
It also said that 6.9 percent or 1.7 million of the self-rated poor families claimed they were non-poor one to four years and were described by the polling firm as “Newly Poor;” 4.9 percent or 1.2 million said they were non-poor five or more years ago or “Usually Poor,” and 32.4 percent or 8.2 million said they never experienced not being non-poor or “Always Poor.”
SWS said that 30 percent of Filipino families (down from 32 percent in June) or an estimated 7.5 million families rated themselves as food-poor while 44 percent (unchanged from June) said they are borderline food-poor — or within the dividing line between being food-poor and not food-poor — and 26 percent (down from 29 percent) said they are not food-poor.
It added the respondents claimed they need at least P15,000 a month in order not to be considered as poor (Self-Rated Poverty Threshold or SRP Threshold) and P8,000 in order not to be considered as food poor (Self-Rated Food Poverty Threshold or SRFP Threshold).
Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said the latest SWS results is an indication that there has been some progress in efforts to reopen the economy and bounce back from the adverse economic impact of the pandemic.
“The government believes that the increase in percentage of the vaccinated population and the drop in new COVID infections put us in a position to safely expand economic activities that will positively impact employment and reduce poverty. Our Economic Team estimates that placing Metro Manila, the center of trade and business in the Philippines, under Alert Level 2, with health and safety protocols still in place, will boost the economy by P6B and employment by 16,000 per week,” he said.
The SWS said self-rated poverty dropped by 16 and nine points in the Visayas (54 percent from 70 percent) and Metro Manila (34 percent from 43 percent), respectively, and stayed at 38 percent in Luzon. It worsened in Mindanao to 58 percent from 51 percent.
