MANILA, Philippines — Around six in 10 Filipinos believe that the quality of their lives got worse in the past year, according to a new survey released by private pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The poll conducted from November 21 to 25 revealed that 62% of adult Filipinos said that the quality of their life got worse in the past 12 months (called by SWS as “losers”), while 24% said it remained the same and only 14% said it got better (“gainers”).
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These numbers were an improvement from September’s poll data, where 82% were losers and 6% were gainers.
The resulting net gainers score, or the difference between losers and gainers, is an “extremely low” -48, which is better compared to the last survey’s “catastrophic” -76, one of the worst survey trends in the history of SWS’ polling.
The net gainers score improved across all regions, but remained “catastrophic” in Metro Manila and the Visayas.
It also eased in all educational levels, but remained “catastrophic” for individuals who have only graduated elementary and junior high school.
The SWS said hunger is greater among losers, with 19% of Filipinos falling under this category.
The poll was the first to be conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The sampling error margins are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. — Xave Gregorio