Only 17 percent of Filipinos families have rated themselves "hindi mahirap" or "not poor" in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released on Friday, July 9.
The nationwide survey, which was conducted from April 28 to May 2, 2021 with 1,200 respondents, also found 49 percent of Filipino families rating themselves as "mahirap" or "poor" and 33 percent placing themselves on the borderline, referred to by SWS as "borderline poor."
The latest survey result is similar to the findings in November 2020 when only 16 percent felt "not poor," 48 percent felt "poor," and 36 percent felt "borderline poor".
'Not poor' declines in Metro Manila
SWS noted that Metro Manila was the only area where the proportion of families feeling not poor fell (30 percent). Borderline poor and poor were 31 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
In Luzon, outside Metro Manila, self-rated poor, borderline poor, and not poor were 45 percent, 31 percent, and 24 percent, respectively, in May 2021, compared to 42 percent, 39 percent, and 20 percent in November 2020.
Meanwhile, in the Visayas, self-rated poor, borderline poor, and not poor were 56 percent, 39 percent, and 5 percent, respectively, in May 2021, compared to 60 percent, 35 percent, and 6 percent in November 2020.
In Mindanao, self-rated poor, borderline poor, and not poor were 59 percent, 35 percent, and 6 percent, respectively, in May 2021 compared to 54 percent, 43 percent, and 3 percent in November 2020.
'Food-poor' families unchanged since last survey
On self-rated food poverty, the latest survey found that 32 percent of families have rated themselves as "food-poor," 23 percent rated themselves "not food-poor," and 45 percent placed themselves on the borderline, referred to by SWS as "borderline food-poor."
SWS said that this was also similar to the findings in November 2020 when 31 percent felt food-poor, 22 percent felt not food-poor, and 47 percent felt borderline food-poor.
Food-poor rises in Mindanao; not food-poor falls in Metro Manila
In Mindanao, self-rated food-poor, borderline food-poor, and not food-poor were 44 percent, 48 percent, and 8 percent, respectively, in May 2021 compared to 33 percent, 62 percent, and 5 percent in November 2020.
"It is only in Mindanao where food-poor families rose, concomitant with a decline in borderline food-poor families," SWS pointed out.
Meanwhile, in Metro Manila, self-rated food-poor, borderline food-poor, and not food-poor were 31 percent, 39 percent, and 31 percent, respectively, in May 2021 compared to 36 percent, 16 percent, and 48 percent in November 2020.
"Metro Manila is the only area where not food-poor families fell, down by 17 points, parallel to a sharp decrease in borderline food-poor families," SWS said.
Newly poor vs newly non-poor
The May 2021 survey asked the self-rated poor if they ever experienced being non-poor, either not poor or borderline, in the past.
The total percentage of poor families consisted of 9.4 percent who were non-poor one to four years ago (newly poor), 4.9 percent who were non-poor five or more years ago (usually poor), and 34.9 percent who never experienced being non-poor (always poor).
SWS said that of the estimated 12.4 million poor families in May 2021, 2.4 million were newly poor, 1.2 million were usually poor, and 8.8 million were always poor.
Likewise, SWS asked those who were self-rated non-poor, either not poor or borderline, if they ever experienced being poor in the past.
The total percentage of non-poor families consisted of 15.8 percent who were poor one to four years ago (newly non-poor), 9.4 percent who were poor five or more years ago (usually non-poor), and 24.7 percent who never experienced being poor (always non-poor).
Of the estimated 12.8 million non-poor families in May 2021, 4.0 million were newly non-poor, 2.4 million were usually non-poor, and 6.2 million were always non-poor.