More Metro Manila folk see themselves as ‘borderline poor’ – SWS

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino families who rated themselves as “borderline poor” and “borderline food-poor” doubled in Metro Manila, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that was conducted weeks after the capital regions and nearby provinces were placed under the strictest community quarantine status to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The survey, taken from April 28 to May 2, found 31 percent of the families in Metro Manila rating themselves as “borderline poor,” up from 14 percent in November last year.

The percentage of families in the capital rating themselves as “not poor” declined from 42 percent to 30 percent while 39 percent said they felt “poor,” down from 45 percent.

The percentage of those who considered themselves “borderline food-poor” rose in Metro Manila, from 16 percent last November to 39 percent in May. Thirty-one percent rated themselves “food-poor” and another 31 percent (correctly rounded) considered themselves “not food-poor.”

The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was enforced in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna starting on March 29. It was supposed to be in effect only during Holy Week but was extended until April 11 as daily cases soared by the thousands.

In Mindanao, more families also rated their food as “poor,” from 33 percent in November to 44 percent in May.

In the survey, SWS asked 1,200 adult respondents where they would place their family in a card with the words “mahirap” (poor) and “hindi mahirap” (not poor) separated by a line written on it.

Nationwide, almost half of Filipino families, or 49 percent, said they felt “poor.”

Of the estimated 12.4 million “poor” families in May, 2.4 million were “newly poor or nonpoor one to four years ago,” 1.2 million were “usually poor or or nonpoor five or more years ago,” and 8.8 million were “always poor or who never experienced being nonpoor.”

A third, or 33 percent, of families nationwide considered themselves “borderline poor,” while only 17 percent rated themselves as “not poor.”

The nationwide results of the survey were similar to the findings in November last year when 48 percent felt “poor,” 36 percent rated themselves as “borderline poor,” and 16 percent considered themselves “not poor.”

The survey had a sampling margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percent for national percentages, and plus-or-minus 6 percent for Metro Manila, the Visayas, Mindanao and the other parts of Luzon.

—Inquirer Research