Lesser families consider themselves poor in Q1 of 2019 — SWS

FILE: Family members load up a modified tricycle and head to the local market to buy food for the day. Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. (Photo by Wayne S. Grazio/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Lesser Filipino families considered themselves poor in the first quarter of 2019, according to the latest survey of Social Weather Stations (SWS) released on Tuesday, June 18.

Results of the First Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey, done on March 28 to 31, showed a new record-low 38 percent or estimated 9.5 million families who consider themselves “mahirap” or poor, down by 12 points from the 50 percent recorded in December 2018 and four points below the previous record-low of 42 percent in September 2016 and March 2018.

The 12-point decline in nationwide Self-Rated Poverty (SRP), the SWS said, was due to decreases in all areas: 16 points in Balance Luzon, 12 points in Mindanao, six points in the Visayas, and two points in Metro Manila.

Of the 38 percent who considered themselves poor, six percent of them were “newly poor” or those who used to be non-poor one to four years ago, while six percent were “usually poor” or those who used to be non-poor five or more years ago. The remaining 26 percent, the SWS said, were “always poor” or those who have never experienced being non-poor.

Meanwhile, of the 62 percent who classified themselves as non-poor, a record-high 15 percent were “newly non-poor,” while a record-high 20 percent were “usually non-poor.” The other 26 percent were “always non-poor.”

The latest survey also found a new record-low 27 percent or about 6.8 million families who consider themselves as “Food-Poor” or those who rate their food as poor; termed by SWS.

This is a seven-point decrease from the 34 percent in December 2018, and two points below the previous record-low of 29 percent.

The SWS also said the families need to have a monthly budget of P10,000 for them not to be considered poor.

The March 2019 Social Weather Survey used face-to-face interviews of its 1,440 survey respondents aged at least 18 years old nationwide. It has a sampling error margins of plus or minus 2.6 percent for national percentages, while plus or minus five percent each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.