4 in 10 Filipinos facing financial woes as inflation bites — survey

MANILA, Philippines — The bite of painful inflation is shaping how Filipinos are adapting to expensive prices, as many found it difficult to keep up with their financial needs, so says this new survey.

The survey revealed 36% of Filipinos found it difficult to make ends meet on their monthly income. The survey was conducted online by local firm Synergy Market Research + Strategic Consultancy alongside YouGov by polling 3,479 adult Filipinos between March 29 and April 5.

Synergy is the exclusive partner of research giant YouGov in the Philippines.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Filipinos were bombarded with expensive prices of consumer goods and services. Inflation in March hit 7.6% year-on-year, slower compared to the previous month but sped up compared to the 4% clip recorded a year ago. 

Inflation rose to levels unseen in 14 years due in part to supply chain bottlenecks, expensive fuel prices, a weak peso, and the easing of mobility restrictions towards the end of the year. The latter fueled a resurgence in consumer spending, unseen since the pandemic sent the domestic economy into a nosedive. 

Rising inflation eats into the public’s purchasing power, as consumers would need to spend more since businesses and firms pass on cost burdens to them. 

Even then, the survey figures represented a profound shift in the spending habits of the public. They reckoned this was an improvement compared to the 52% outturn, recorded back in their September 2022 survey round. The economy was struggling then, as the peso hit historic lows while fuel prices turned expensive.  

The same survey also revealed seven out of 10 Filipinos were expecting to slash spending across their households in the next 12 months if inflation does not improve. 

“We still need to watch and see because even if inflation is going down, with the wage hike, prices of products and services may go up,” Germaine Reyes, president and CEO of Synergy, told Philstar.com. 

Even then, household prospects are set to turn for the better since analysts expect inflation to continue easing towards the end of the year. Experts reckon that inflation will fall within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2-4% target by September or October. — Ramon Royandoyan