71% of families received cash aid during pandemic – SWS

MANILA, Philippines — Seventy-one percent of Filipino families have received cash aid from the government since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the latest mobile phone survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The number of families who received cash help from the government in September, however, hardly changed from 72 percent in July.

SWS said this implied that there has been no increase in the recipients of government’s cash subsidy between July and September.

The poll, taken from Sept. 17 to 20, showed that 67 percent of those who accepted cash assistance received it once; 29 percent, twice; two percent, thrice; one percent, four times and 0.21 percent, five times.

The survey found that families received an average total of P7,531.

Money-help from government was more widespread and more frequent in Metro Manila than in other areas, the pollster noted.

The proportion of those whose families received cash aid from the government was highest in Metro Manila at 82 percent, followed by the Visayas, 73 percent; balance Luzon, 70 percent and Mindanao, 64 percent.

Families in Metro Manila have also received bigger amounts of cash aid at an average of P11,024, the SWS said.

The average amount received by those in balance Luzon was P7,481; P6,833 for those in the Visayas and P5,664 for those in Mindanao.

SWS said since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the average amount of government cash aid received by families of non-elementary graduate respondents was smaller than the average amount obtained by families of more educated respondents.

In particular, the amount of government money-help received by families of non-elementary graduates – an average of P7,025 – was smaller than the amounts received by families of more educated respondents, average ranging from P7,091 to P8,004.

At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr said yesterday the SWS survey “only proves that government help has reached and has been felt by a great number of our people.”

“This is indeed a fulfillment of President Duterte’s vow to make up for the loss of economic opportunities when quarantine measures were imposed,” he said. – Christina Mendez