13.4M Filipino families consider themselves poor in Q4 2019: SWS

FILE: Squatter settlement in Manila Philippines (Photo: SuSanA Secretariat/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA — Around 13.4 million or 54 percent of Filipino families consider themselves poor from the September to December 2019 period, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Thursday.

The survey, conducted from Dec. 13 to 16, found that the number of Filipino households who see themselves poor in the past three months is 12 percentage points above the 42 percent or around 10.

3 million families recorded in September last year.

“Earlier in 2019, the proportion of Self-Rated Poor families was 38 percent in March and 45 percent in June (last year),” SWS noted.

“The latest Self-Rated Poverty rate is the highest since the 55 percent in September 2014,” it added.

Around 1.6 million or 7 percent of 13.1 million poor households are “newly poor,” 1.8 million or 7 percent are “usually poor,” and 9.

7 million or 40 percent are “always poor.”

The 12-percentage points rise in nationwide self-rated poverty was due to sharp increases in Metro Manila (41 percent from 25 percent), Balance Luzon (47 percent from 34 percent), the Visayas (67 percent from 59 percent), and Mindanao (64 percent from 53 percent).

In order for Filipino households to consider themselves as non-poor, a minimum monthly budget of PHP15,000 for those in Metro Manila, PHP13,000 for those in Balance Luzon, and PHP10,000 for those in the Visayas and in Mindanao would suffice.

The same SWS poll bared that 8.6 million or 35 percent of families rated their food as “poor,” up by 6 percentage points from the 7.1 million or 29 percent recorded in September 2019.

The 6-percentage points increase in nationwide self-rated food poverty was due to sharp increases in Metro Manila (27 percent from 16 percent), Balance Luzon (25 percent from 24 percent), the Visayas (46 percent from 42 percent), and Mindanao (50 percent from 36 percent).

To consider their food as non-poor, a monthly food budget of PHP7,000 is needed for residents of Manila, PHP5,500 for those who are in Balance Luzon, PHP6,000 for those who are in the Visayas, and PHP5,000 for those who are in Mindanao.

SWS interviewed 1,200 adult Filipinos using sampling error margins of ±3 percentage points for national percentages, and ±6 percentage points each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.