SWS: Number of Filipinos with positive outlook on life down

By CATHERINE S. VALENTE, Manila Times, 17 Nov 2019

The number of adult Filipinos who viewed their lives positively slightly dipped in the third quarter of 2019, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Saturday.

The nationwide survey, conducted from September 27 to 30 among 1,800 respondents, showed that 36 percent of Filipinos rated their life positively, and 25 percent rated it by a negatively.

These translate to a net gainers score of +11 (percentage of those saying their lives improved minus percentage of those saying it worsened), classified by SWS as “very high.”

But it is lower than the +13 in June and +17 in March, all classified as very high (+10 to +19), according to SWS.

“Snce 1983, only 10 percent of net gainers scores are within very high range or better,” the polling firm said.

The SWS attributes the two-point decline in the national net gainers score to the 10-point decrease in Visayas (+17 to +7), six-point decrease in the rest of Luzon (+14 to +8), an eight-point increase in Mindanao (+7 to +15), and a steady figure in Metro Manila (+18).

Historically, the net gainers score has been higher among those with higher educational attainment than those who are less educated.

The net gainers scores were +22 (excellent) among college graduates, +17 (very high) among high school graduates, +2 (high) among elementary graduates, and -1 (fair) among non-elementary graduates.

The third-quarter survey also found that 46 percent of Filipinos expect their quality of life to improve in the next 12 months and 5 percent expect it to get worse.

The latest score translates to a net personal optimists score of +41 (percentage of those expecting their personal quality of lives to improve minus percentage of those expecting it to get worse), classified as “excellent.”

This used to be +42 in June and +47 in March, all classified as excellent (+40 and above).

During the same survey period, SWS found that 41 percent of adults believed that athe Philippine economy will improve in the next 12 months, while 12 percent said it will worsen for a net economic optimists score of +28.

The latest figure is lower than the +33 in June and +35 in March, all classified as excellent (+20 and above).

The September survey, conducted using face-to-face interviews with 1,800 adults, had sampling error margins of ±2.3 percent for national percentages, ±4 percent each for Balance Luzon and Mindanao, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila and the Visayas.