More Filipino families rated themselves poor in the second quarter of 2023, according to the “Tugon ng Masa” (TNM) nationwide survey conducted by OCTA Research.

The results of the survey conducted from July 22 to 26 and released on Tuesday, Sept. 19 found that 50 percent, or an estimated 13.2 million Filipino families, considered themselves poor.

“This is higher than the estimated 11.3 million families (43 percent) recorded in March 2023,” OCTA said.

It said that an additional 1.9 million Filipino families now consider themselves poor or “new poor” when compared to the First Quarter TNM survey conducted in March 2023.

“The increase in the number of self-rated poor families was mainly due to the significant increase in Visayas, from 37 percent to 57 percent, and in Mindanao, from 45 percent to 59 percent),” OCTA pointed out.

It added that Mindanao has the highest percentage of adult Filipinos who consider their families to be poor, accounting for 59 percent, followed by Visayas at 57 percent.

Most Filipinos believe poverty status still the same

According to the survey, 60 percent of adult Filipinos believe that the level of poverty in the country has not changed since the last time it was surveyed.

In addition, Metro Manila has the highest proportion of adult Filipinos (70 percent) who believe that the level of poverty in the country is unchanged from before.

In contrast, Mindanao has the highest proportion of adult Filipinos (27 percent) who believe that poverty has decreased under the current administration.

3.9M households experienced hunger in Q2 2023

During the same survey period, OCTA found that around 15 percent, or an estimated 3.9 million Filipino families, experienced hunger in the second quarter of 2023.

“This is roughly the same as the first quarter of 2023, which is about 16 percent. Across major areas, it is in Visayas where 19 percent experienced hunger, followed by Mindanao at 15 percent, while both Balance Luzon and the National Capital Region were at 14 percent,” it said.

OCTA refers to hunger as “not having anything to eat at least once in the last three months prior to the survey period.”

“Among those whose families have experienced hunger in the last three months, 84 percent said that they experienced hunger only once or a few times, while the remaining 16 percent experienced hunger often or always,” it noted.

11.3M families rated themselves ‘food-poor’

Around 43 percent, or an estimated 11.3 million families in the country, considered themselves “food-poor” in the second quarter of 2023.

“This is almost the same with the first-quarter survey in 2023, which was about 41 percent,” OCTA said.

It defines food poverty as the state in which individuals and households struggle to obtain a sufficient and healthful diet.

“Compared to other major areas, Mindanao has the highest percentage of adult Filipinos who consider their families food-poor (54 percent), followed by Visayas (44 percent), and Balance Luzon (42 percent),” OCTA said.

“There is a significant increase in the number of self-rated food-poor families in both Visayas, from 28 percent to 44 percent, and Mindanao, from 42 percent to 54 percent, while there is a decrease in NCR, from 34 percent to 23 percent,” it added.

The Second Quarter 2023 TNM survey is an independent and non-commissioned survey that was conducted from July 22 to 26, with 1,200 respondents nationwide.

It has a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level.