Social Weather Stations (SWS), 2020 National Mobile Phone Survey showed 79 percent of Filipino adults said their lives got worse in the past 12 months.
In May 2020, the SWS recorded the highest proportion of those who said their life became worse with 83 percent. The 79 percent is the second-highest recorded in July 2020.
Meanwhile, at least 12% said their life status stayed the same while 8%, the second-lowest proportion recorded, said their lives have improved. In May, 6% said their lives have become better.
SWS 2020 National Mobile Phone Survey was conducted in 1,555 Filipino respondents who are 18 years old and older from July 3 to 6, 2020, through mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).
There were 306 participants in the National Capital Region, 410 in Mindanao, 451 in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside of Metro Manila), and 388 in the Visayas. It has a sampling error margin of ±2 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent for Metro Manila, ±5 for Balance Luzon, ±5 percent for the Visayas, and ±5 percent for Mindanao.
Although there is an improvement in the number of people who say their lives are better or the Gainers, the figure remains “catastrophic” with the lowest recorded in the Visayas at –75, followed by Balance Luzon at –74, Metro Manila at –71, and Mindanao at –65.
Although still high, the scores improved nationwide from May 2020, with Mindanao showing the most significant improvement, up from –80 in May to –65 in July 2020.
In the Visayas, the score is higher from –82 in May to –75 in July. In Metro Manila, the score improved from –77 in May to –71 in July.
In Balance Luzon, however, the score almost remained unchanged, as the figure recorded was –75 in May and –74 in July.
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SWS: Slight improvement among ‘hungry families’
The Net Gainers’ score is lower among those whose families experienced involuntary hunger (–77) than among those whose families did not (–70) in the past three months, SWS also showed.
Moreover, the score is lower among those who experienced severe hunger (“often” and “always”) at –84 (currently rounded) than among those who experienced moderate hunger (“only once” and “a few times”) at –75.
In July 2020, 20.9% of Filipino families (est. 5.2 million) experienced involuntary hunger.
The July 2020 survey also found that 72% said their families received financial aid from the government since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.