A recent Social Weather Station (SWS) survey found 48% of Filipino families said they feel Poor, while 36% feel Borderline Poor, and only 16% feeling Not Poor.
SWS conducted the Self-Rated Poverty (SRP) survey through face-to-face interviews. It could not be implemented in mobile phone surveys earlier this year. It requires showing the survey respondents a card with the words MAHIRAP and HINDI MAHIRAP, separated by a LINE.
In December 2019, the last time that SRP was implemented, 54% felt Poor, 23% felt Borderline Poor, and 23% felt Not Poor. From December 2019 to November 2020, the borderline-poor grew by 13 points, consisting of 6-points that climbed up from below and 7 points that fell from above.
In the Balance of Luzon, the Self-Rated Poor, Borderline Poor, and Not Poor are 42%, 39%, and 20%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 47%, 24%, and 29% in December 2019.
In the Visayas, the Self-Rated Poor, Borderline Poor, and Not Poor are 60%, 35%, and 6%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 67%, 22%, and 12% in December 2019.
In Mindanao, the Self-Rated Poor, Borderline Poor, and Not Poor are 54%, 43%, and 3%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 64%, 25%, and 11% in December 2019.
In Metro Manila, the Self-Rated Poor, Borderline Poor, and Not Poor are 45%, 14%, and 42%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 41%, 17%, and 42% in December 2019. Metro Manila is the only area where families feeling Not Poor did not fall; poverty in Metro Manila worsened by 3 points, drawn entirely from a decline in the borderline poor.
SWS survey: 8.2% of Filipino families are “newly poor”
The November 2020 survey asked the self-rated poor if they ever experienced being non-poor (either not poor or borderline) in the past. The total percentage of poor families consists of 8.2% who were non-poor 1-4 years ago (“Newly Poor”), 5.3% who were non-poor five or more years ago (“Usually Poor”), and 34.7% who never experienced being non-poor (“Always Poor”).
Of the estimated 12.0 million Poor families in November 2020, 2.0 million were Newly Poor, 1.3 million were Usually Poor, and 8.6 million were Always Poor.
Conversely, the survey asked those who were self-rated non-poor (either not poor or borderline) if they ever experienced being poor in the past. The total percentage of non-poor families consists of 7.3% who were poor 1-4 years ago (“Newly Non-Poor”), 15.1% who were poor five or more years ago (“Usually Non-Poor”), and 29.1% who never experienced being poor (“Always Non-Poor”).
Of the estimated 12.9 million Non-Poor families in November 2020, 1.8 million were Newly Non-Poor, 3.7 million were Usually Non-Poor, and 7.2 million were Always Non-Poor.
Report from: SWS