Half of Pinoy families rate themselves poor – SWS

MANILA, Philippines — About half of Filipino families rated themselves as “mahirap” or poor, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its latest survey.

Forty-eight percent of families claimed they are poor, 23 percent “not poor” and 29 percent placed themselves on the borderline, according to the SWS poll fielded from June 23 to 26.

The latest figures were similar to the May 2021 findings when 49 percent felt poor, 17 percent felt not poor and 33 percent felt borderline poor, the pollster said.

The proportion of families feeling poor rose in the Visayas, from 56 percent in May 2021 to 70 percent in June 2021. Those who rated themselves not poor increased to seven percent from five percent.

In Metro Manila, 43 percent rated themselves poor from May’s 39 percent. Thirty-eight percent of them considered themselves not poor from 30 percent in May.

In Luzon outside Metro Manila, those who rated themselves poor dropped to 38 percent from 45 percent, while the non-poor increased from 24 percent in May to 34 percent in June.

In Mindanao, the self-rated poor was at 51 percent in June from 59 percent in May. The non-poor slightly increased to seven percent from six percent.

The Second Quarter 2021 Social Weather Survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults, 18 years old and above, nationwide.