ALMOST half of Filipino families feel poor, mostly unchanged from December, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll.
SWS noted that based on the March poll, 46% of the families or about 12.9 million thought they were poor, compared with 47% or about 13 million in December. It added that 30% rated themselves as borderline poor, while 23% said they were not.
“Compared with December 2023, the percentage of poor families hardly changed from 47%, while borderline families barely moved from 33%, and not poor families rose slightly from 20%,” the pollster said.
SWS said there was a slight decrease in the self-rated poverty figure in Mindanao and Metro Manila, while it rose in the Visayas and steadied for the rest of Luzon.
“As of March 2024, the percentage of self-rated poor families was highest in the Visayas at 64%, followed by Mindanao at 56%, Balance Luzon at 38% and Metro Manila at 33%,” it added.
In December, self-rated poverty was 61% in Mindanao 37% for Metro Manila, 58% for the Visayas and 39% for the rest of Luzon.
Meanwhile, the borderline fell in the Visayas to 25% from 35%, and hardly changed in Metro Manila at 27% from 29%, at 31% from 34% for the rest of Luzon and at 35% from 32% for Mindanao.
At the same time, Filipinos who thought they were not poor rose in Metro Manila to 41% from 35%, while it hardly changed at 30% from 27% for the rest of Luzon, at 11% from 7% for the Visayas and at 9% from 6% for Mindanao, SWS said.
SWS interviewed 1,500 adults on March 21-25 for the poll, which had an error margin of ±2.5 points. — Norman P. Aquino