More Filipinos consider themselves poor in 3rd quarter of 2017

More Filipinos considered themselves poor in the third quarter of 2017, while the percentage of those who considered themselves poor in terms of food remained unchanged, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from Sept. 23 to 27.

About 10.9 million or 47 percent of Filipino families considered themselves poor – up from 10.1 million families, or 44 percent, in June.

For nine consecutive quarters – from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2016 – the percentage of self-rated poverty had been either steady or declining. However, it increased sharply to 50 percent in March 2017.

According to the SWS survey, an estimated 7.4 million families considered themselves “food-poor” in the third quarter of this year, similar to the 32 percent posted in June.

Self-rated food poverty averaged 31 percent in 2016 and 35 percent in 2015.

The SWS asked heads of households to pick a showcard that best described their family: not poor, on the line, or poor.

Similar showcards were used to ask about the type of food that they eat.

Across geographical areas, self-rated poverty went up by 16 points in Balance Luzon (from 34 to 50 percent), and 3 points in Metro Manila (from 28 to 31 percent). However, it declined by 12 points in Mindanao (from 57 to 45 percent), and by 8 points in the Visayas (from 64 to 56 percent).

Self-rated food poverty also went down in Mindanao (from 41 to 34 percent) and the Visayas (from 44 to 38 percent). It increased in Metro Manila (from 16 to 20 percent) and in Balance Luzon (from 27 to 32 percent).

The survey had 1,500 adult respondents who were interviewed face-to-face, and a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points. /atm