51% of Pinoys think they’re poor: SWS

MANILA, Philippines – At least half of Filipino families in the country believe they are poor, according to the latest self-rated poverty survey of independent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The May 24-27 survey, which was first published in Businessworld, showed 51% of respondents, or about 10.3 million households, rating themselves as “mahirap” (poor).

This is down 4 percentage points from the 55% self-rated poverty rating, equivalent to 11.1 million families, in the SWS March survey.

Self-rated food poverty also declined in the past quarter, from 45% in March to 39% in May.

At least 61% of respondents in rural areas considered themselves poor, compared to only 42% for urban respondents.

SWS said self-rated poverty and food poverty improvements were recorded in all areas but also noted that families had continued to tighten their belts.

In Mindanao, self-rated poverty dropped seven points to 65%. It fell five points to 41% in Metro Manila, by four to 57% in the Visayas and by two points to 43% in Balance Luzon.

A five-point decline to 61% was recorded in rural areas, while urban areas saw a two-point increase to 42%.

Self-rated food poverty, meanwhile, dropped by 11 points to 53% in Mindanao. Smaller improvements came in Balance Luzon and Metro Manila, six points to 32% and five points to 25%, respectively. The score was barely changed at 46% from 47% in the Visayas.

The May 24-27 SWS survey involved face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide and utilized sampling error margins of ±3% for national and ±6% for area percentages. With a report from BusinessWorld