Poor families rise to 11.1 million

ore Filipino families are considering themselves poor, up by around 1.3 million households, in the 2nd quarter of 2018 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results.

The nationwide survey conducted from June 27 to 30 with 1,200 respondents found 48 percent or about 11.1 million families considering themselves “mahirap” or poor.

This is six points more than the 42 percent or estimated 9.8 million families in March 2018, and is the highest since the 50 percent in March, 2017.

SWS attributed the six-point rise in self-rated poverty to sharp increases in Mindanao, Metro Manila, and Visayas offset by a slight decrease in the rest of Luzon.

It rose by 18 points in Mindanao, from 42 percent in March 2018 to 60 percent in June 2018. This is the highest since the 70 percent in September, 2015.

It also increased by 13 points in Visayas, from 54 percent in March to 67 percent in June. This is the highest since the 71 percent in December, 2015.

It went up by 13 points in Metro Manila, from 30 percent in March to 43 percent in June. This is also the highest since the 43 percent in December, 2014.

However, self-rated poverty decreased by five points in rest of Luzon, from 40 percent in March to 35 percent in June. This is the lowest since the 34 percent in September 2016.

Furthermore, the survey found that of the 48 percent poor families, 36 percent have never experienced being non-poor (“always poor”). The 12 percent who transitioned into poverty consisted of 6 percent who used to be non-poor five or more years ago (“usually poor”), and 6 percent who used to be non-poor one to four years ago (“newly poor”).

This is similar to the 6 percent newly considered poor recorded in March 2018.

Of the 52 percent non-poor families, 26 percent have never experienced poverty (“always non-poor”). The 26 percent who transitioned out of poverty consisted of 18 percent who used to be poor five or more years ago (“usually non-poor”), and 9 percent who used to be poor one to four years ago (“newly non-poor”).

This is three points lower than the 12 percent non-poor recorded in March 2018.

During the same survey period, SWS also found 34 percent or about 7.8 million families rating their food as poor, called by SWS as food-poor.

This is five points above the 29 percent or an estimated 6.7 million families in March 2018, and is the highest since the similar 34 percent in December 2016.

SWS attributed the five-point rise in self-rated food poverty to increases in Mindanao, Metro Manila, and rest of Luzon, and an unchanged proportion in Visayas.

It increased by 14 points in Mindanao, from 31 percent in March 2018 to 45 percent in June 2018. This is the highest since the 54 percent in September, 2015.

It also increased by five points in Metro Manila, from 18 percent in March to 23 percent in June. This is the highest since the similar 23 percent in December, 2016.

It also rose by two points in the rest of Luzon, from 24 percent in March to 26 percent in June. This is the highest since 32 percent in December, 2017.

But it was unchanged in Visayas at 45 percent in March and June. This is the highest since the 50 percent in December, 2015.

SWS said the median self-rated poverty threshold or the monthly budget that a poor household needs for home expenses in order not to consider itself poor in general is

The median self-rated poverty thresholds by area are in Metro Manila,

in the rest of Luzon, in Visayas, and in Mindanao.

Except for Metro Manila and Mindanao, all self-rated poverty thresholds increased. The self-rated poverty thresholds for Mindanao, rest of Luzon, and Metro Manila are at record-highs.

It also found that the median selfrated poverty gap or the amount poor families lack in monthly home expenses relative to their stated threshold was at

which is about two-fifths of the self-rated poverty threshold.

This is the highest recorded value for the self-rated poverty gap since it was first surveyed in November 2010.

The median self-rated food poverty gap by area are in Metro Manila, P5,800 in the rest of Luzon, in Visayas, and in Mindanao.

Except for the Visayas, all self-rated food poverty gaps increased. The latest self-rated food poverty gap for Mindanao is a new record-high.

Meanwhile, the national median self-rated food poverty threshold or the monthly budget that a food-poor household needs for food expenses in order not to consider its food as poor is unchanged at

The national median self-rated food poverty gap or the amount food-poor families lack in monthly food expenses relative to their stated threshold is also unchanged at or half of the selfrated food poverty threshold.