SWS: 71% of Filipinos received pandemic cash aid as of September
MANILA, Philippines — Seventy-one percent of respondents of a Social Weather Stations survey in September said they received cash aid from the government since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
"This hardly changed from the 72% in July 2020, implying that there has been no increase in the recipients of government's cash subsidy between July and September 2020," SWS said in a media release.
The bulk of the government's Social Amelioration Program ran during the Luzon-wide lockdown from March to May, although a second tranche of assistance was being given out in August and September.
READ: Metro LGUs lament delay in 2nd SAP distribution
Of those who received cash aid, 67% received subsidies once while 33% received cash aid at least twice, SWS also said.
Broken down, 29% of respondents received cash aid twice while 2% said they received aid three times.
Another 1% received cash four times and 0.21% said they received aid four times.
The families received an average of P7,531, which, SWS noted, is "P943 above the average total of P6,588.17 money-help received by families in July 2020."
More aid in Metro Manila
More respondents in Metro Manila (82%), which remains under General Community Quarantine, said they received cash aid.
This was followed by Visayas (73%), the rest of Luzon (70%) and Mindanao (64%).
"By frequency of receiving money-help, majority of families that got money-help from government received it only once in all areas, except in Metro Manila where majority received it twice," SWS said.
"In Metro Manila, 39% of families that got money-help from government received it once, 48% received it twice, 6% received it thrice, 4% received it four times, and 1% received it five times."
READ: Social Amelioration Program cut in GCQ areas, where not everyone can go back to work
Families in Metro Manila have also received bigger amounts of cash aid at an average of P11,024, the SWS survey suggests.
In contrast, the average amount received by respondents in Balance Luzon was P7,481 while those in the Visayas received an average of P6,6883.
The average amount of cash aid received by respondents in Metro Manila was P5,664.
"Compared to July 2020, the average total money-help received by families from government is up by P2,670 in Metro Manila, by P845 in the Visayas, by P780 in Balance Luzon, and by P222 in Mindanao," SWS said.
SWS said its September 17-20, 2020 National Mobile Phone Survey was "a probability-based survey conducted using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) of 1,249 adult Filipinos nationwide.
Broken down, the survey had 309 respondents in Metro Manila, 328 in Balance Luzon, 300 in the Visayas, and 312 in Mindanao, it also said.
According to survey results released by pollster Pulse Asia earlier this month, 84% of respondents in September approved of the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of the government providing pandemic assistance, only 7% expressed disapproval, while 9% registered ambivalence.
Pulse Asia said approval is the majority sentiment across all geographic areas and socio-economic classes.
“It may be noted that Mindanawons are more inclined to approve of the Duterte administration’s efforts to assist those who lost their sources of income as a result of the pandemic compared to Metro Manilans,” it said.
The highest rating on the government’s response to control the COVID-19 transmission was logged in Visayas (86%), followed by Mindanao (85%) and Luzon (85%).
Metro Manila, the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak, registered a 78-percent approval rating of the government’s handling of the health crisis.
READ: 84% of Filipinos approve of Duterte admin's COVID-19 response — Pulse Asia
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