SWS: 96% of Pinoys to welcome 2020 with hope

MANILA, Philippines — Almost all Filipino adults will welcome the New Year with hope rather than fear, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its fourth quarter survey.

The poll, taken from Dec. 13 to 16, showed 96 percent of Filipinos, aged 18 and above, saying they are entering 2020 with hope. At least four percent said they would welcome it with fear.

Hope for the New Year was four points above the 92 percent in 2018 and matched the record-high level that was first achieved in 2017.

On the other hand, those who will enter the New Year with fear dropped four points from eight percent in 2018. It matched the record-low levels in 2017 and 2011.

Hope for the New Year rose in all areas except in Mindanao, the SWS said.

It was a record-high 99 percent in balance Luzon (from 96 percent), 97 percent in the Visayas (from 79 percent), 96 percent in Metro Manila (from 94 percent) and 90 percent in Mindanao (down from 94 percent).

The Fourth Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey was based on face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide.

SWS said hope for the New Year has always been high, starting at 87 percent when it first asked the question in 2000.

It rose to 93 percent in 2010 and has since then been at 90s levels, reaching as high as 96 percent in 2017 and this year.