More Pinoys ‘optimistic’ of future

MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos have become optimistic about the near future, but still have mixed expectations whether their quality of life will improve, worsen or remain the same in the next year, results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 17 to Sept. 20, found that 32 percent of adult Filipino respondents expected their personal quality of life to improve (optimists) while 30 percent expected it to worsen (pessimists).

At the same time, 33 percent said they expected their personal quality of life to stay the same and 6 percent were unsure.

SWS conducted the noncommissioned survey among 1,249 Filipinos through mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews.

The ratings resulted in a net optimism score of “mediocre” +2 (optimists minus pessimists), which was an improvement from the “very low” -10 in July.

Among “losers” or those saying their lives worsened in the past 12 months, 35 percent were pessimists while 31 percent were optimists, resulting in a “mediocre” -4 net optimism score.

Majority of the “gainers,” or those whose lives improved in the past months, were optimists at 55 percent while the pessimists were at 9 percent. This resulted in an “excellent” +46 net optimism score.

Among those who said their lives did not change, 62 percent believed their lives would stay the same in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 26 percent were optimists and 9 percent were pessimists, resulting in a “fair” +17 net optimism score.

Net optimism was highest in Luzon outside Metro Manila at “fair” +12. It was followed by Metro Manila at “mediocre” +5, Mindanao at “low” -8 and Visayas at “very low” -14.

Only Mindanao experienced a decline in its net optimism score from -5 in July to -8 in September. Net optimism improved in Luzon outside Metro Manila by 17 points and in Metro Manila and Visayas by 14 points.

Net optimism was a “very low” -19 among those who experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months, lower than the “fair” +11 among those who did not experience hunger.

According to SWS, the net optimism score was also higher among those with a job at “mediocre” +5 than among those without a job at present but used to have one at “low” -1 and among those who never had a job at “low” -5.

The survey had a sampling margin of error of plus-minus 3 percent for national percentages, plus-minus 5 percent for Luzon outside Metro Manila, and plus-minus 6 percent for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.

—Inquirer Research