THE number of Filipinos who see themselves as poor has gone up, according to the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The survey firm said that in its national Social Weather Survey conducted from September 14-23, 2024, 59 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as poor, up from the 58 percent recorded in a similar study in June.
According to SWS, this translates into 16.3 million Filipino families who see themselves as poor, or a 300,000 increase from 16 million in June.
The study also showed that 9.1 percent of families are “Newly Poor” or did not see themselves as poor one to four years ago. This translated to 2.5 million families classified as Newly Poor. Meanwhile 2.3 million families were Usually Poor, and 11.5 million were Always Poor.
“The percentage of respondent households rating themselves as poor was applied to the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2024 to arrive at the estimated numbers of Self-Rated Poor families,” SWS said.
The study also showed that 13 percent of respondents rated themselves as borderline (by placing themselves on a line dividing Poor and Not Poor), and 28 percent rated themselves as Not Poor, SWS said.
Metro Manila had the highest increase in number of people who see themselves as poor, according to SWS.
“The 1-point rise in the nationwide Self-Rated Poverty between June 2024 and September 2024 was due to a sharp increase in Metro Manila, combined with a slight increase in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) and slight decreases in the Visayas and Mindanao.”
SWS said Self-Rated Poverty went up to 52 percent in Metro Manila in September from 39 percent in June. Metro Manila residents who saw themselves as Not Poor also fell by 8 points from 46 percent in June to 38 in September.
“The September 2024 median monthly family expense for House rent was highest in Metro Manila at P3,500,” SWS said.
The median expenses for Transportation to work and school were also highest in Metro Manila at P2,500.
Last August, the Philippines’ chief development economist was criticized over the government’s definition of food poverty threshold. Critics said the official food poverty threshold of P64 per day per person was unrealistic. (ABS-CBN News)
