LOVE BY THE NUMBERS | This graph by the Social Weather Stations shows the trends in romance among Filipinos through the decades.
MANILA, Philippines — More than half of respondents polled by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said they were “very happy with their love life,” with the rest saying they “could be happier” or they had no love life.
The noncommissioned survey conducted in December last year among 1,200 adults nationwide was released on Feb. 11 ahead of Valentine’s Day on Wednesday.
SWS said the respondents were asked which of these phrases “describes your love life”—“very happy,” “could be happier” and “no love life.”
“Fifty-eight percent of Filipinos were very happy with their love life, 23 percent could be happier, and 19 percent have no love life,” the polling group said about its survey, which had a margin of error of ±2.8 percent.
It also noted a steady increase in the number of Filipinos with “no love life” from 10 percent in 2002 to 19 percent in 2023.
SWS said the 58 percent was “the highest since the record-high 59 percent in 2011.”
Married, ‘live-in’ couples
As for married couples, “most” of them “are very happy with their love life,” the polling group said—with 76 percent of men and 67 percent of women saying they were “very happy.”
Among “live-in partners,” 69 percent of men and 64 percent of women said they were very happy with their love life.
Money (16 percent), love and companionship (11 percent), and flowers (10 percent) ranked high among the top Valentine’s Day “gift wishes” selected by the respondents.
READ: Beware of ‘love scams’ as Valentine’s Day nears – DILG
Among those who chose money, 12 percent were men and 19 percent were women. Among those who selected love and companionship, 10 percent were men and 11 percent were women.
‘Gift wishes’
And among those who chose flowers, 7 percent were men and 13 percent were women.
Among the respondents who chose “apparel,” 14 percent were men and 5 percent were women. And among those who chose “any gift from the heart,” 7 percent were men and 4 percent were women.
Other gift wishes selected by the respondents include mobile phones, watch and jewelry, and good family relationships (5 percent each); food and grocery items, chocolates and health of loved ones (3 percent each); and a kiss, a child, date or dinner, a cake, and a house (1 percent each). —WITH A report from INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ