A resident of a marginalized community takes a bath outside his home in Manila. AFP PHOTO /NOEL CELIS
The number of Filipino families who considered themselves poor hit a new record-low, according to the latest survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The self-rated poverty SWS poll released on Thursday showed that 42 percent or about 9.4 million Filipino families rated themselves as “mahirap” (poor).
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The latest figure broke the previous record of 43 percent set in March 2010 and 1987. Self-rated poverty in December 2015 was at 52 percent.
Families that rated themselves poor in Visayas were at 56 percent; 49 percent in Mindanao; 36 percent in the National Capital Region; and 34 percent in Balance Luzon.
SWS said self-rated poverty and food poverty have been “either steady or declining” for eight and five consecutive quarters, respectively.
The same survey also touched on self-rated food poverty, where 30 percent or about 6.7 million families classified themselves as poor based on the food they eat. The question posed was: “Based on the type of food eaten by your family, where would you place your family on this card?”
SWS said self-rated poverty and food poverty have been “either steady or declining” for eight and five consecutive quarters, respectively.
The survey, conducted from Sept. 24 to 27, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults and had an error margin of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. CBB/rga