The number of families that saw themselves poor rose to 11.1mn in the second quarter this year, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The poll, conducted from June 22 to 26, showed that 45% of the 1,200 respondents rated themselves poor, seven percentage points higher than the 38% recorded in March 2019.
“The rise in the proportion of self-rated poor families comes after a 14-point decline over the previous three quarters. It went down from 52% in September 2018, to 50% in December, and then to 38% in March 2019,” SWS said.
The survey also found that of the 45% who considered themselves poor, 4.8% were “newly poor,” or not poor one to four years ago; 3.3% were “usually poor,” or used to be non-poor five or more years ago; and 36.9% were “always poor.”
Of the estimated 24.6mn households in June 2019, 12.1% were “newly non-poor,” or used to be poor one to four years ago; 13.8% were “usually non-poor,” or used to be poor five or more years ago; and 28.7% were “always non-poor,” or have never experienced being poor.
The same survey also found that 35% or an estimated 8.5mn families rated their food poor. This was eight points above the record-low 27% or an estimated 6.8mn of families in March 2019.
“Similar to the self-rated poor percentage, the rise in the proportion of Self-Rated Food Poor families comes after a nine-point decline over the previous three quarters. It went down from 36% in September 2018, to 34% in December, and then to 27% in March 2019,” the SWS said.
The pollster said the median poverty threshold, or the monthly home expense budget “that poor families need in order for their food not to be considered poor,” is P20,000 in Metro Manila, P12,000 in Balance Luzon, P10,000 in the Visayas, and P15,000 in Mindanao.
Self-rated poverty rose by 19 points in Mindanao, five points in Balance Luzon, and three points in Metro Manila. It remained unchanged in the Visayas at 55%.
On the other hand, the eight-point increase in self-rated food poverty in the second quarter was attributed to increases of 20 points in Mindanao, six points in Balance Luzon and three points in Metro Manila.
SWS said the median poverty threshold – or the monthly home expense budget “that poor families need in order for their food not be considered poor” is P20,000 in Metro Manila, P12,000 in Balance Luzon, P10,000 in the Visayas and P15,000 in Mindanao.
The nationwide survey used face-to-face interviews and has sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
PHILIPPINES
