4 in every 10 Filipino families rate self as ‘poor’

AT LEAST four in every 10 Filipino families have considered themselves poor in the third quarter of 2023, an Octa Research survey showed.

In the Tugon ng Masa survey conducted by Octa from September 30 to October 4, 46 percent of the respondents or 12.1 million Filipino families said they consider themselves poor from July to September 2023.

The figure is however four percent lower than the same survey result conducted in the second quarter of the year from April to June at 50 percent or 13.2 million families who consider themselves poor.

The Visayas had the highest percentage of Filipino families who consider themselves poor at 59 percent, while the highest decrease was recorded in Balance Luzon, from 46 percent to 37 percent.

Families who considered themselves hungry also went down by five percent, from 15 percent or 3.9 million Filipino families in July to 10 percent or 2.6 million families.

“This the first time in three quarters that a dip in self-rated poverty and self-rated hunger was observed,” Octa fellow Dr. Guido David said.

The poll also revealed that the average amount Filipino families needed for monthly home expenses is P33,000.

The survey showed, however, that 26 percent of adult Filipinos believe that the state of hunger in the country has worsened, while only 11 percent said that it has improved.

It said 30 percent of those who believed that the state of hunger improved were in the Visayas region.

Meanwhile, in a survey conducted by the Social Weather System from September 28-October 1, 2023, it was found that 9.8 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger -- being hungry and not having anything to eat -- at least once in the past three months.

The figure is lower than the 10.4 percent in June 2023 and the same as the 9.8 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

From July to September, the experience of hunger was highest in Metro Manila at 17.3 percent, followed by Balance Luzon at 10.3 percent, the Visayas at 6.7 percent and Mindanao at 6.7 percent.

The SWS noted that the experience of hunger went down in Visayas and Balanced Luzon but in an uptrend in Metro Manila and Mindanao.

Almost the same with the self-rated poor survey of Octa, the SWS found that 48 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as poor.

But it is higher than the 45 percent rating in the second quarter of 2023.*(Sunstar