Most Pinoys feel worse off - poll

MANILA, Philippines – A majority of Filipinos believe they are worse off now than they were last year and many believe the US financial crisis would have “disastrous consequences” for them and their families.

“About half (49 percent) of Filipinos believe that the crisis may have a large effect on the Philippines. In particular, this subgroup of Filipinos is worried that the crisis in the US would be disastrous for most Filipinos (76 to 83 percent) and would have adverse repercussions for their own families (53 to 69 percent),” the latest survey of Pulse Asia showed.

The nationwide poll conducted from Oct. 14 to 27 had a sample of 1,200 adults and a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

According to the survey, 58 percent of Filipinos say they are worse off at present than they were in 2007.

An even higher percentage of respondents (78 percent) believe most Filipinos are “losers.”

“With respect to the next 12 months, pessimism is the predominant public sentiment – both at the personal and national levels (44 percent and 67 percent respectively),” Pulse Asia said.

“At the personal level, pessimism about the year ahead is most pronounced in Mindanao (61 percent) but a high level of pessimism may also be noted in the Visayas (55 percent),” it added.

Pessimism as regards the national quality of life is a sentiment expressed by majorities across all geographic areas and socio-economic classes, Pulse Asia noted.

“Levels of public pessimism range from 55 percent in Metro Manila to 81 percent in Mindanao,” it said.

Survey results also revealed a popular sentiment among most of the respondents (79 percent) is that the national economy has deteriorated in the past three years.

“In contrast, only six percent of Filipinos think that the national economic situation improved since 2005, while 15 percent say there was no change – positive or negative – in the state of the Philippine economy,” the survey showed.

There were still indications, however, that the impact of the financial issue has eased for some Filipinos, particularly between July and October.

Pulse Asia said fewer Filipinos, or -17 percentage points, considered themselves “losers” than last July.

Levels of personal pessimism also showed a decline of -20 percentage points between July and October.

“The most marked improvement in national quality of life figures is the 12-percentage point drop in the level of pessimism,” Pulse Asia said.

According to the poll, the US financial crisis is known to 69 percent of Filipinos while the rest do not know of this situation that has affected economies worldwide.

Apart from the US financial crunch, other major developments that occurred when the Pulse Asia survey was taken were the US presidential elections, the filing of the new impeachment complaint against President Arroyo, the Supreme Court decision on the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain and the controversy involving the so-called “euro generals” led by retired police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz.

Malacañang said yesterday it would continue to implement livelihood and other socioeconomic programs regardless of the results of surveys.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said while the Palace monitors surveys on the government, it is not depending its programs on these.

“Nevertheless, this is a very good response mechanism especially on implementers of government projects,” he said.

Golez said the Arroyo administration has been expanding its pro-poor programs several months back when it became evident that the global economy was heading towards recession.

He also pointed out that some surveys showed that Filipinos are generally satisfied with the government programs.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said the complaints on the high cost of living are understandable “in the wake of the global financial crisis and everyone is bound to feel its effects.” – With Paolo Romero