10M Filipino families say they are poor, 7.3M consider selves as food-poor —SWS

Ten million Filipino families consider themselves as poor and 7.3 million said they are food-poor, according to the latest Social Weather Stations survey released on Tuesday night.

 

The SWS said that in its December 8 to 16, 2017 survey, 44 percent (equivalent to 10 million) said they are poor.

 

The latest result, meanwhile, is 3 points lower compared to the September 2017 survey result of 47 percent.

 

The self-rated poor families in the March 2017 survey was at 50 percent, which decreased in June at 44 percent.

 

The pollster said the December 2017 result gives an average self-rated poverty of 46 percent for all quarters of the previous year, which is two points lower than the record-low average 44 percent of 2016.

 

Food-poor

 

The SWS also said that in the same survey, 7.3 million families or 32 percent said they are food-poor, the same as in the September 2017 survey.

 

The pollster said this gives an average self-rated food poverty of 33 percent for the year 2017, which is two points higher thatn the record-low 31 percent of 2016.

 

The proportion of self-rated food poor families was 35 percent in March 2017 and 32 percent last June.

 

The SWS said the monthly budget that a poor household needs for home expenses in order not to consider itself as poor in general is P15,000.

 

The latest survey showed that the median self-rated poverty gap – the amount poor families lack in monthly home expenses relative to their stated threshold – was unchanged at P5,000, or one-third of the self-rated poverty threshold.

 

Meanwhile, the national median self-rated food poverty threshold – the monthly budget that a food-poor household needs for food expenses in order not to consider its food as poor – is at P6,000.

 

The national median self-rated food poverty gap – the amount food-poor families lack in monthly food expenses relative to their stated threshold – is P3,000, or half of the self-rated food poverty threshold.

 

Except for the unchanged self-rated poverty gap, these values are higher in December 2017 compared to September 2017.

 

Survey background

 

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

 

It has sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

 

The area estimates were weighted by Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2017 to obtain the national estimates.

 

The SWS survey questions are directed to the household head. The pollster said these items are non-commissioned, and are included on its own initiative and released as a public service.

 

Poverty increases in Mindanao, declines elsewhere

 

The SWS said that the nationwide decline in self-rated poverty was due to a sharp decrease in Balance Luzon and slight decreases in Metro Manila and the Visayas, offset by an increase in Mindanao.

 

In Mindanao, the self-rate poverty increased by 7 points — from 45 percent in September to 52 percent in December. This is less than the 57 percent result in June 2017.

 

This gives Mindanao an average self-rated poverty of 52 percent for 2017, 1 point above the 51 percent in 2016.

 

The self-rated poverty decreased by 10 points in Balance Luzon, from 50 percent in September 2017 to 40 percent in December 2017. This is the lowest since the record-low 34 percent in June 2017.

 

This gives Balance Luzon an average self-rated poverty of 43 percent for 2017, 3 points higher than the 40 percent in 2016.

 

The self-rated poverty decreased by 3 points in Metro Manila, from 31 percent in September to 28 percent in December. This is similar to the 28 percent rating in June.

 

This gives Metro Manila a record-low average self-rated poverty of 31 percent for 2017, 1 point lower than the 32 percent in 2016. This happened only once before, in 1987.

 

In the Visayas, the self-rated poverty also decreased by 3 points, from 56 percent in September to 53 percent in December. This is the lowest for the area since the 52 percent in June 2016.

 

This gives the Visayas an average self-rated poverty of 58 percent for 2017, 3 points higher than the 55 percent in 2016.

 

More food-poor in Mindanao, Metro Manila

 

The steady nationwide self-rated food poverty in the fourth quarter of 2017 was due to increases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with a decrease in the Visayas, and a steady score in Balance Luzon.

 

The self-rated food poverty in Mindanao increased by 2 points, from 34 percent in September 2017 to 38 percent in December 2017. This figure gives Mindanao a record-low average SRFP of 36 percent for 2017, 2 points below the previous record of 38 percent in 2016 and 2010.

 

In Metro Manila, the self-rated food poverty increased by 2 points, from 20 percent in September to 22 percent in December. This gives Metro Manila a new record-low average SRFP of 20 percent for 2017, 1 point below the previous record of 21 percent in 2016.

 

The self-rated food poverty fell by 6 points in the Visayas, from 38 percent in September to 32 percent in December.

 

This gives the Visayas an average self-rated food poverty of 37 percent for 2017, the same as in 2016. This is one point above the record-low 36 percent recorded in 2007.

 

Meanwhile, the self-rated food poverty in Balance Luzon was steady at 32 percent. This gives Balance Luzon an average self-rated food poverty of 33 percent for 2017, 5 points above the record-low 28 percent in 2016. — BAP/ALG, GMA News