About 48 per cent of Philippine families consider themselves 'poor'

A national survey shows a six-point drop from the previous 54 per cent of December last year. When it comes to food poverty, 31 per cent of households rate themselves poor in food, while 47 per cent poor rate themselves as borderline.

Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A nation-wide survey on self-rated poverty found that 48 per cent of Philippine families, about 12 million, rate themselves as “poor”, a six-point drop from 54 per cent in December 2019.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS), which carried out the survey in November, said that a family considers itself poor if its home budget falls below the threshold set for a particular area.

In Metro Manila and Visayas, the threshold is set at a 15,000 pesos (US$ 310) monthly budget, according to SWS. At 10,000 pesos (US$ 210), the threshold is lower in Balance Luzon (or areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila) and Mindanao. This translates into a national median threshold of 12,000 pesos (US$ 250).

The SWS poll also found that the number of Philippine families who consider themselves as “borderline poor” grew by 13 points to 36 per cent.

The percentage of those who rated themselves as “not poor” also dropped by seven points to 16 per cent. The SWS reports drops in this category in Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Of the self-rated poor families, around two million are “newly poor”, the SWS said. This means that they rated themselves as non-poor a year or four years ago.

When it comes to food poverty, 31 per cent of families rate themselves as food-poor, while 47 per cent as borderline food-poor. The SWS noted that the percentage of those who don't feel food-poor fell “in all areas” nationwide to 22 per cent.

According to SWS standards, a family in Metro Manila or Visayas needs a monthly food budget of at least 8,000 pesos (US$ 165) to be ranked above “poor”.

In Balance Luzon and Mindanao, the food poverty threshold is set at 7,000 pesos (US$ 145) and 5,000 pesos (US$ 105) respectively, with the national median threshold at 7,000 pesos (US$ 145).

The survey is based on face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide, with questions “directed to household heads”.

• philippines
• survey
• poverty
• self-evaluation
• regional differences
• social welfare stations