72% of Pinoys received aid from gov’t amid Covid-19 crisis: SWS

Beneficiaries of the government’s social amelioration program (PNA File photo)

MANILA – Majority of Filipinos have received assistance from the government since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in the country, according to the latest survey conducted by polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS).

SWS, in its July 3 to 6 survey, revealed that the government has so far given money to 76 percent of adult Filipinos affected by the crisis brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The proportion of adult Filipinos who got financial aid from the government was highest in Metro Manila (85 percent), followed by Balance Luzon (75 percent), Mindanao (65 percent) and the Visayas (64 percent).

Seventy-two percent of respondents in both urban and rural areas said they were given money to help them sustain their needs amid the pandemic.

SWS also found that 75 percent of women and 67 percent of men received cash assistance from the government.

The number of adult Filipinos who were provided aid was high among age groups 18 to 24 (70 percent), 25 to 34 (73 percent), 35 to 44 (76 percent), 45 to 54 (77 percent), and 55 and above (62 percent).

Respondents who also received assistance from the government were high among junior high school graduates (77 percent), elementary graduates (75 percent), non-elementary graduates (71 percent), and college graduates (58 percent).

President Rodrigo Duterte imposed an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest quarantine classification, in the entire Luzon in March this year to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

In April, Duterte extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and other areas considered high risk for Covid-19.

Duterte then gradually eased the quarantine restrictions in June to allow the resumption of more business activities to revive the country’s economy.

Amid the pandemic, the government has implemented various programs aimed at helping Filipinos, especially those who belong to the poor and marginalized sector, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

SWS interviewed around 1,555 Filipinos aged 18 and above using a mobile phone and computer-assisted telephones.

The polling firm used sampling error margins of ±2 percentage points for national percentages, ±6 percentage points for Metro Manila, and ±5 percentage points each for Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.