Filipinos received an average of more than P6,000 from the government since the COVID-19 crisis began, with four sources listed as the most mentioned, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.
In a recent survey, SWS found out that 72 percent of Filipinos received cash aid from the government since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
The survey conducted from July 3 to 6 among 1,555 respondents found that the most mentioned sources by those who received aid were as follows: the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the DSWD, local government units (LGUs), and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
At the top of the list was the DSWD at 41 percent, followed by the DSWD’s SAP at 28 percent, LGUs at 14 percent, and the 4Ps at 11 percent. The respondents were not provided with a list of choices, and were allowed to give up to three answers.
Other sources mentioned were social amelioration programs from unspecified government institutions at 6 percent, Social Security System (SSS) at 4 percent, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) at 2 percent, aid for senior citizens and persons with disability (PWD) at 1 percent, and the Department of Agriculture (DA) at 1 percent, and others at 2 percent.
SWS added that the 72 percent whose families got financial help from the government received an average of P6,588, since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
Families in Metro Manila received the highest amount among those who received financial help compared to those in Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
SWS said that since the start of the crisis, families in Metro Manila received an average amount of P8,354, followed by Balance Luzon with average of P6,701, the Visayas with an average of P5,988, and Mindanao with an average of P5,441.
Families in urban areas received an average of P7,118, higher than the average P6,085 received by families in rural areas.
Among those who received cash aid from the government, the DSWD was the most mentioned source in Mindanao at 62 percent and the Visayas 55 percent.
On the other hand, the LGUs were the most mentioned sources in Metro Manila at 43 percent, while the DSWD and the DSWD’s SAP were equally most mentioned in Balance Luzon at 32 percent each.
Less educated families received less
SWS previously mentioned in its survey on hunger that the lower the socio-economic status and lower educational attainment, the more likely it is that hunger had been experienced by the respondents. However, the survey found that since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the average amount of cash aid received by families of less educated respondents was smaller than the average amount received by families of more educated respondents.
In particular, the amount received by families of non-elementary graduates was an average P5,516, smaller than the amounts received by families of more educated respondents with an average ranging from P6,307 to P7,107.
Data were gathered through mobile phone interviews of adult Filipinos 18 years old and above, randomly drawn from a database of mobile phone numbers compiled from SWS national and subnational representative face-to-face surveys since 2017.
SWS noted the sampling error margins of ±2% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila, and ±5% for Balance Luzon, ±5% Visayas, and ±5% in Mindanao.