Self-Rated Poor Filipino Households Climb to 55% in September as Food Costs Bite
Key Takeaways
- •Self-rated poverty among Filipino families increased to 55% in September from 49% in June, covering an estimated 16.8 million households, according to Social Weather Stations.
- •Self-rated food poverty surged 8 percentage points to 44%, or about 13.3 million families, from 36% three months earlier.
- •SWS attributed the rise largely to borderline households crossing into poverty, as the borderline share fell to 9% for both general and food poverty while the non-poor share held nearly steady at 36%.
- •Poverty rates increased across all regions, with Balance Luzon posting the largest gain of 10 points to 51%, and Mindanao remaining the highest at 64%, followed by the Visayas at 63% and Metro Manila at 44%.
- •Rising living expenses lifted the national median monthly poverty threshold to P15,000, leaving households P6,000 short, while the median food poverty threshold reached P8,000 with a P3,000 gap.
The share of Filipino families rating themselves as poor climbed to 55% in September from 49% in June, equivalent to an estimated 16.8 million households, up from 13.6 million three months earlier, according to pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Self-rated poverty — drawn from respondents' own assessment of their circumstances rather than the official, income-based poverty measurement used in government statistics — offers a frequent, perception-based reading of household conditions in the Philippines.
Self-rated food-poor households recorded an even steeper rise, surging 8 percentage points to 44%, or roughly 13.3 million families, from 36% in June, SWS said in a statement on Tuesday.
The pollster attributed the increase largely to households slipping out of "borderline" status. The borderline share fell to 9% from 14% for general poverty and to 9% from 15% for food poverty, while the non-poor share held nearly flat at 36%. Because this quarter's rise came mainly from borderline families crossing into poverty, movements within that middle group — rather than among the non-poor — will be a key figure to follow in upcoming SWS rounds.
Poverty rates rose across all regions. Balance Luzon, or Luzon outside Metro Manila, led the increase with a 10-point rise to 51%. Overall self-rated poverty remained highest in Mindanao at 64%, followed by the Visayas at 63%, with Metro Manila at 44%. Food poverty reached 52% in Mindanao, 51% in the Visayas, 40% in Balance Luzon, and 31% in Metro Manila.
Rising living expenses pushed the national median poverty threshold to P15,000 per month, leaving a P6,000 gap, while the median food poverty threshold rose to P8,000 with a P3,000 gap. The shortfall between what households say they need and what they currently have illustrates how food costs weigh on family budgets as more households rate themselves food-poor.
Among poor households, SWS classified 11.7 million as "always poor," 2.7 million as "usually poor," and 2.2 million as "newly poor" — the category it uses for households that were not poor in earlier surveys, distinguishing recent entrants from long-term deprivation.
The non-commissioned survey was conducted from Sept. 21 to 27 through face-to-face interviews with adult respondents, with a ±3% national sampling error margin.
— Erika Mae P. Sinaking
Source: BusinessWorld Online
