In a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), 48% of Filipino families classified themselves as “poor”. This equates to an alarming 13.2 million families who believe they are living in poverty as of September.
The latest findings indicate a rise in the self-rated poverty rate, showing an increase of 3 percentage points from the 45% recorded in June. Conversely, families who identify as ‘Borderline’ dropped by 6 points to 33%, while those considering themselves ‘Not Poor’ increased by 3 points to 25%.
Worryingly, the survey unveiled that nearly two million Filipino families perceive themselves as ‘newly poor’. This designation refers to families who didn’t see themselves as impoverished just five years ago. Breaking down the numbers, of the 13.2 million families who identified as ‘poor’ in September: 1.8 million are ‘newly poor’; 1.7 million fall under ‘usually poor’; and a staggering 9.7 million have always considered themselves ‘poor’.
The survey, shedding light on the socio-economic conditions many Filipino families face, was conducted between September 28 and October 1.