Gov’t leads source of assistance among households: SWS Dec. 2016 survey

THE GOVERNMENT ( gobyerno) at 46% topped a list of sources of assistance provided to households polled last December by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), followed by relatives (or kamag-anak) at 41%, friends ( mga kaibigan) at 16%) private persons ( pribadong tao na hindi kamag-anak o kaibigan) at 8%, private companies ( pribadong kumpanya) at 5%, non-government organizations or NGOs (2%), and religious organizations (1%) .

The Dec. 3-6, 2016, noncommissioned survey was conducted with face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide, 600 in Balance Luzon and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. Sampling error margins are at ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The survey also found that 47% or an estimated 10.5 million households received assistance in the last quarter of 2016, most commonly in the form of money... and most commonly from government.”

On the other hand, “(f )ifty-three percent or an estimated 12.0 million households reported not having received any kind of help in the past three months,” the survey noted.

“In the past, the proportion of households receiving any form of help ranged from as low as 12% in September 2002 to as high as 52% in June 2014 and March 2015,” the survey said, adding:

“The latest figure of 47% is 3 points above 44% in December 2015. This is higher than the 30-40% range from 2004 to 2011, and within the 44-55% range from 2012 to 2016.”

The most common form of assistance was found to be money that was given (money-gift, or pera na binigay) at 51%, followed by food ( pagkain) at 38%, money that was lent (money loan or pera na pinautang) at 24%, support for schooling or training ( suporta sa pag-aaral o pagsasanay) at 8%, non-food items ( iba pang bagay na hindi pagkain) at 4%, jobs ( trabaho) at 4%, and any kind of service ( kahit na anong uri ng serbisyo) at 1%.

“Money- gifts were typically the most common form of help, having topped the list in 18 out of the 21 surveys since 2001, followed by Money-loans and Food,” the survey said, whereas “Food topped the list only three times: 57% in December 2009, 35% in June 2008, and 33% in September 2001 when it tied with Money-loans.”

“For only the fifth time out of the 21 surveys since 2001, the Government was the most common source of help received by households in the past three months,” the survey noted, adding that: “Most of the time, such help came from Relatives.”

The 46% assisted by the government were estimated at 4.8 million, followed by beneficiaries of relatives at about 4.3 million; of friends at about 1.7 million; of private persons at about 856,000; of private companies at about 543,000; of NGOs at about 250,000; and of religious organizations at about 146,000.

“Examining the sources of help, the December 2016 survey found that the Government was the top source of help among households that were given Support for schooling or training ( 87%), Any kind of service (55%) and Food (51%),” the survey said, adding:

“Relatives, on the other hand, were the top sources of help among households that received Non-food items (71%) and Money-loans (41%).”

“Relatives (53%) and Government ( 51%) were the two most common sources of help among household that were given Money-gifts.”

“Friends were the top sources of help among households that were given Jobs (51%).”

The survey also found that the distribution of food assistance was directly related to hunger.

“Among Severely Hungry households, the most common sources of help were Relatives (51%), followed by the Government ( 37%), Friends ( 21%), Private persons ( 12%), and NGOs ( 3%),” the survey noted. On the other hand, “The Government was the most common source of help in Moderately Hungry households ( 42%) and households that did not experience Hunger (47%).”

“The measure of Hunger refers to involuntary suffering due to lack of food to eat. Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months,” the survey said.

The December 2016 findings on hunger were reported last January.