9 of 10 Pinoys hopeful in 2013

MANILA, Philippines - Nine in 10 Filipino adults will welcome the New Year with hope rather than fear, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

“Hope for the coming year is widespread across all areas,” the Fourth Quarter 2012 Social Weather Survey, conducted from Dec. 8 to 11, said.

The 92 percent hopeful in the coming year, however, was three points lower than the record-high 95 percent registered in 2002 and 2011.

Hope for the coming year has customarily been at high levels, starting at 87 percent when it was first polled in December 2000, and at 88 percent in December 2001, the SWS said.

The December 2012 survey of Pulse Asia also showed 92 percent of adult Filipinos will face the year 2013 with hope rather than apprehension.

New Year Hope lower in Mindanao

Compared to 2011, New Year hope hardly changed in balance Luzon (95 to 96 percent).

In the other three areas, however, New Year hope slightly declined as fear for the coming New Year increased.

In Mindanao, New Year hope declined by nine points to 85 percent in 2012 after reaching 94 percent in 2011.

The 85 percent New Year hope in Mindanao is the lowest recorded since the 84 percent in 2005 who were hopeful of entering 2006, the SWS said.

In the Visayas, New Year Hope slightly declined to 93 percent in 2012 from 96 percent in 2011 and 97 percent in 2010. Those who fear the coming 2013 doubled from three percent in 2011 to seven percent in 2012.

In Metro Manila, New Year hope slightly declined to 93 percent in 2012 from 96 percent in both 2010 and 2011. Those who fear the coming 2013 doubled from three percent in 2011 to six percent in 2012.

The SWS noted that New Year hope was highest among classes A, B, and C.

New Year hope among classes ABC increased to 100 percent in 2012 from 97 percent in both 2010 and 2011.

Among class D, New Year hope slightly declined to 93 percent in 2012 from 96 percent in 2011 and 95 percent in 2010.

Fear of the coming New Year, however, increased to six percent in 2012 from three percent in 2011.

Among class E, New Year hope declined to 89 percent in 2012 after recovering to 93 percent in 2011 from 89 percent in 2010. Fear of the coming New Year increased to 11 percent from six percent in 2011.

SWS said the survey question on hope versus fear about the New Year was patterned after the polls conducted annually by the Allensbach Institute of Demoskopy, a pioneering opinion research center in Germany.

The poll used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the balance of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.  – Helen Flores