SWS: Most Pinoys find lack of transport burdensome

MANILA, Philippines — The suspension of public transport and the shutdown of businesses as part of the government’s strict community quarantine measures were burdensome for majority of Filipinos, results of a noncommissioned Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The survey, conducted from May 4 to May 10, found that 77 percent of Filipino families thought the suspension of public transport was burdensome, while 80 percent felt the same about the shutdown of private businesses.

SWS conducted the noncommissioned survey through mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews among 4,010 working-age Filipinos—294 from Metro Manila, 1,645 from Luzon outside Metro Manila, 792 from the Visayas and 1,279 from Mindanao.

According to the survey, the percentage of families burdened by the suspension of public transport was higher among those who did not own any vehicle, at 82 percent. But even those who owned a vehicle found the suspension burdensome, at 73 percent.

The shutdown of private businesses was also more burdensome among families without vehicles at 82 percent, compared with those with vehicles at 78 percent.

By area, the percentage of those who felt burdened by the lack of public transport was highest in Metro Manila at 81 percent, followed by the Visayas at 78 percent, Mindanao at 77 percent, and Luzon outside Metro Manila at 76 percent.

The shutdown of businesses was found most burdensome by those in Metro Manila at 83 percent, followed by the Visayas at 82 percent, Luzon outside Metro Manila at 80 percent and Mindanao at 78 percent.

The survey had a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent for national percentages, plus or minus 6 percent for Metro Manila, plus or minus 2 percent for Balance Luzon and plus or minus 3 percent for Visayas and Mindanao.