A survey conducted by the OCTA Research revealed that most Filipinos prioritize their health as a top personal concern, with saving money and owning a house and lot being of lesser importance to them.

Seventy-one percent of Filipinos “want to stay healthy and avoid illnesses,” based on the first quarter of 2024 “Tugon ng Masa” survey results on urgent personal concerns of Filipinos, which were made public on Friday, April 19.

Meanwhile, 57 percent want to “at least to be able to have enough to eat every day,” while 44 percent, hope “to finish schooling or to be able to provide schooling for our children.”

However, Filipinos are least concerned about “securing a well-paying job or source of income,” at 38 percent, “avoiding being a victim of any serious crime,” at 34 percent, “having savings,” at 32 percent, and “owning a house and lot,” at 23 percent.

VisMin’s top concern is education, Metro Manila’s top priority is savings

OCTA noted that health is the most urgent personal concern for most adult Filipinos in major areas, with the exception of Visayas, where it is lower but statistically linked to having enough to eat every day (68 percent vs. 71 percent).

“More adult Filipinos (71 percent) in Visayas are concerned with having enough to eat daily (71 percent) than in Mindanao (62 percent), Balance Luzon (55 percent), and the National Capital Region (NCR) (36 percent),” OCTA also said.

“Regarding finishing schooling or providing education to children, fewer adult Filipinos in NCR (39 percent) consider it an urgent personal concern compared with Balance Luzon (43 percent) and Visayas and Mindanao with 47 percent each,” it added.

Moreover, there is a significant percentage of Filipinos in Metro Manila (41 percent) that are concerned about saving compared with those in Balance Luzon (34 percent), Visayas (21 percent), and Mindanao (32 percent).

“The same pattern holds on the personal concern of owning a house and lot, which is at 38 percent in NCR, significantly higher than those in Balance Luzon (24 percent), Visayas (20 percent), and Mindanao (18 percent),” it said.

Class E identifies food, education as top priorities

OCTA said health is an urgent personal concern for majority of adult Filipinos across socioeconomic classes, with 79 percent in Class ABC, 71 percent in Class D, and 69 percent in Class E.

Meanwhile, more Filipinos from Class E (64 percent) are concerned about having enough food daily than those from Class ABC (58 percent) and Class D (56 percent).

In terms of education—completing or providing schooling for children—more members of Class E (51 percent) identified this as an urgent personal concern, compared to only 39 percent of those in Class ABC and 44 percent in Class D.

OCTA also found that 48 percent of Class ABC respondents are concerned about being a victim of a serious crime, which is significantly higher than Class D (33 percent) and Class E (31 percent).

In contrast, only 8 percent of Class ABC is concerned about owning a house and lot, compared to 24 percent of Class D and 31 percent of Class E.

Savings are a concern for 34 percent of Class ABC and 35 percent of Class D, but only 15 percent of Class E.

The non-commissioned survey, which was conducted from March 11 to 14, was participated in by 1,200 respondents nationwide.