Quality of life worse for 49% of Pinoys – SWS survey

‘AYUDA’ LINE Residents queue to receive their cash aid under the government’s social amelioration program. —RICHARD A. REYES./INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly half of adult Filipinos said their quality of life had gotten worse in the past year while over a third remain optimistic about the next 12 months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The survey, which interviewed 1,200 adult Filipinos in-person, was conducted from June 23 to 26.

SWS found 49 percent of Filipinos saying their quality of life got worse compared to last year or the “losers,” while 18 percent said it got better or the “gainers.” Thirty-three percent said their quality of life remained the same.

This resulted in a net gainers score of “very low” -31 (gainers minus losers), seven points up from the “very low” -38 in May and improving continuously from the “catastrophic” scores of -78 in May 2020, -72 in July 2020 and -76 in September 2020.

Net gainers eased in Metro Manila from “catastrophic” -50 in May to “very low” -30 in June and in Luzon outside Metro Manila from “extremely low” -42 to “low” -27.

In Visayas and Mindanao, however, it worsened from “very low” -38 to “extremely low” -40 and from “low” -25 to “very low” -31, respectively.

The poll had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percent for national percentages and plus-or-minus 6 percent for Metro Manila, Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon outside Metro Manila.

In the same survey period, SWS also found 37 percent of Filipinos were “optimists” or those who expect their quality of life to improve over the next 12 months, while 7 percent are “pessimists” or those who think their quality of life will worsen.

Forty-two percent said it would stay the same while the remaining 14 percent did not give an answer.

The figures resulted in a “very high” net personal optimism score of +30 (optimists minus pessimists), six points above the “high” +24 in May. However, it was five points below the “very high” +35 in November last year.

The rise in national net personal optimism score was due to the increase of optimism in Luzon outside Metro Manila from “high” +26 in May to “very high” +38 in June, and in Metro Manila from “high” +29 in May to “very high” +34 in June.

Meanwhile, net personal optimism score in Mindanao went from “high” +26 in May to “high” +24 in June while it was unchanged at “fair” +15 in Visayas.

By educational attainment, net personal optimism was “very high” among Filipinos with higher levels of education.

Net optimism was highest among college graduates at “excellent” +42, followed by junior high school graduates at “very high” +30, nonelementary graduates at “high” +26, and elementary graduates at “high” +25.

—INQUIRER RESEARCH