MANILA, Philippines — Only 29% of Filipino adults said the quality of their lives got better in the past 12 months, a poll conducted by private pollster Social Weather Stations showed as the country continues to navigate inflation and high prices of basic goods.
The same survey showed that 25% of Filipino adults said the quality of their lives got worse, while 46% said it has remained the same.
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This yielded a net gainers score of +5, which the polling firm classifies as “high.”
The March net gainers score was slightly lower than the “high” +8 in December 2022, and was 13 points below the pre-pandemic level of “very high” +18 in December 2019.
SWS said the net gainers score—or the sum of “losers” or those who reported that their lives got worse and “gainers” or those who said their lives got better—“was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers until the drastic deterioration beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.”
The pollster noted the net gainers score was “high” among non-hungry families (+5), overall hungry families (+1), and moderately hungry families (+4). It, however, was “mediocre” among severely hungry families (-18).
The net gainer score was “very high” among not poor families (+16) and among the borderline poor (+13), while it was “fair” among poor families (-5).
Net gainers fell to “high” +2 from “very high” +18 in Metro Manila, to “high” +6 from “very high” +10 in Mindanao, and to “fair” -14 from “mediocre” -4 in Visayas. Net gainers, however, stayed “very high” in Balance Luzon, up by two points to +12 from +10.
The poll conducted from March 26 to 29 asked 1,200 adults: “Comparing your quality of life these days to how it was 12 months ago, would you say that your quality of life is better now than before, same as before, or worse now than before?”
Sampling error margins were ±2.8% for national percentages, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. — Gaea Katreena Cabico