11.3 million families consider themselves poor – OCTA

MANILA, Philippines — Around four in every 10 Filipino households or around 11.3 million Filipino families considered themselves poor in the first quarter of 2023, a survey conducted by OCTA Research showed.

Results of the March 24 to 28 survey released on Friday showed that 43 percent of the respondents considered their families poor, from 41 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in October 2022.

Meanwhile, those who said they were “not poor” remained steady at 12 percent, from 13 percent. Those who cannot say if they are poor dropped from 46 percent to 44 percent.

According to OCTA, self-rated poverty was highest among respondents in balance Luzon at 47 percent (from 33 percent), followed by those in Mindanao at 45 percent (from 56 percent), the Visayas at 37 percent (from 48 percent) and Metro Manila at 36 percent (from 33 percent).

Those who said their families are “not poor” was highest among those in Metro Manila at 18 percent (from 20 percent), followed by those in the rest of Luzon at 26 percent (from 12 percent), Mindanao at eight percent (from 16 percent) and the Visayas at four percent (from six percent).

Respondents who said they do not know was highest among those in the Visayas at 58 percent (from 46 percent), followed by those in Metro Manila at 47 percent (from 48 percent), Mindanao at 46 percent (from 28 percent) and rest of Luzon at 37 percent (from 55 percent).