SWS: 10 million Filipino families rate themselves poor

by Julius N. Leonen, Inquirer, Jan 17, 2018

About 10 million Filipino families said they were suffering from poverty, according to a recent nationwide survey taken during the last quarter of 2017.

According to data released on Tuesday evening, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said 44 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as “mahirap” or “poor.”

SWS data showed the number of Filipino families who considered themselves as poor was declined by 900,000, or three points below from the 47 percent or 10.9 million self-rated poor families in September 2017.

“This gives an average Self-Rated Poverty of 46% for all quarters of 2017, 2 points short of the record-low average 44% of 2016,” the SWS said in a media release.

The SWS attributed the decline to a sharp decrease of self-rated poor families in Luzon by 10 points to 40 percent, and slight decreases of three points both in Metro Manila and Visayas with 28 percent and 53 percent, respectively.

Self-rated poor families in Mindanao, however, increased by seven points, from 45 percent in September 2017 to 52 percent in December.

Food poverty up in Mindanao, Metro Manila

In addition, the SWS said the number Filipino families who said they were suffering from food poverty remained unchanged at 32 percent, or 7.4 million.

The survey firm said the average of self-rated food poverty was at 33 percent for 2017, up by two points from its “record-low” 31 percent result in 2016.

“The steady nationwide self-rated food poverty in the fourth quarter of 2017 was due to increases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with a decrease in the Visayas, and a steady score in Balance Luzon,” the SWS said.

Self-rated food poverty increased by two points in Mindanao and Metro Manila, with 36 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

In Visayas, self-rated food poverty fell by six points to from 38 percent in September to 32 percent in December. It was steady in Luzon at 32 percent.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide, with 300 each in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The survey has a margin of error of ±3% nationwide, ±4% for Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, the polling body said. /atm