SWS: Self-rated poverty dips

MANILA, Philippines — Self-rated poverty in the country slightly decreased to 10 million Filipino families in the last quarter of 2017, according to the latest survey of Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey, conducted from Dec. 8 to 16 with the results released this week, showed 44 percent of the 1,200 respondents considered their families as poor.

It was three points below the 47 percent or 10.9 million Filipino families who considered their families as poor based on a similar survey conducted in September.

SWS said the decrease can be attributed to the sharp decline in self-rated poverty in Luzon, and slight decreases in Metro Manila and the Visayas.

Survey results showed self-rated poverty decreased in Metro Manila (from 31 percent in September to 28 percent in December), the rest of Luzon (from 50 percent to 40 percent) and the Visayas (from 56 percent to 53 percent).

Meanwhile, the number of Filipinos in Mindanao who rated their families as poor increased from 45 percent in September to 52 percent in December.

While self-rated poverty decreased between September to December, SWS noted it is still higher than the 42 percent obtained in September 2016, the first such survey since the Duterte administration took over.

The average 46 percent self-rated poverty in 2017 (50 percent in March, 44 percent in June, 47 percent in September and 44 percent in December) was also higher by two points from the average 44 percent in 2016 (46 percent in April, 45 percent in June, 42 percent in September and 44 percent in December).

Food poor

Meanwhile, the number of Filipinos who said that their families are “food-poor” – or those who rated themselves as poor based on the food that they eat – remained at 32 percent.

Compared from survey results last September, the number of those who rated their families as food poor increased in Metro Manila (from 20 percent to 22 percent) and Mindanao (from 34 percent to 36 percent).

It remained at 32 percent in the rest of Luzon and decreased from 38 percent to 32 percent in the Visayas.

The same survey also showed that self-rated poverty threshold, or the monthly amount needed by a family for them to not consider themselves as poor, increased to P15,000.

This is the first time that the threshold, which has been at P10,000 since 2013, increased to such amount.

The survey had an error margin of plus or minus three percent for national percentages.