42% of Filipinos consider themselves poor: SWS

October 21, 2019

An estimated 10.3 million or 42 percent of Filipino families considered themselves as poor, according to the Social Weather Station (SWS) survey Monday.

“The resulting 42 percent three-quarter average proportion of Self-Rated Poor (SRP) families for 2019 is 6 points below the 48 percent four-quarter average for 2018,” it said.

Their latest survey also found 7.1 million or 29 percent of families rate their food as food poor which is a 6-point recovery from the 35 percent last June.

The latest SWS survey was conducted from September 27-30 using face-to-face interviews of 1,800 adult Filipinos. 

“The resulting 30 percent three-quarter average proportion of Self-Rated Food Poor families for 2019 is 3 points below the 33 percent four-quarter average for 2018,” it added.

SWS said out of the estimated 24.6 million total households, 13 percent or an estimated 3.2 million families used to be poor 1-4 years ago or “newly non-poor”, and 15.7 percent or 3.9 million used to be poor five or more years ago or “usually non-poor”.

Meanwhile, 29.4 percent or 7.3 million never considered themselves as poor or “always non-poor”.

“These figures add up to the 58 percent of families who consider themselves non-poor in September 2019,” SWS said.

SWS said the 3-point decrease in the national proportion of SRP families in the third quarter is due to decreases of 6 points in Metro Manila, 6 points in Balance Luzon, and 3 points in Mindanao, combined with a 4-point increase in the Visayas.

The 6-point decrease in the national proportion of Food Poor families is due to decreases of 11 points in Mindanao, 6 points in Metro Manila, and 6 points in Balance Luzon, combined with a 3-point increase in the Visayas.

SWS said the SRP Threshold or the minimum monthly budget poor families need for home expenses not to consider themselves poor is P10,000 which fell from P15,000 last June.

Self-Rated Food Poverty (SRFP)Threshold is the minimum monthly food budget that poor families need for them not to consider their food as poor is P5,000 which is less than the P6,000 last June. Ella Dionisio/ DMS