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THE number of Filipino families who consider themselves poor has decreased, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed on Friday.

Results of the poll, which were first published in BusinessWorld, showed that 9.8 million Filipino families regard themselves as poor, down from the 10.4 million recorded in March.

SWS said that the number of food-poor households in the country plunged from 8.1 million (40 percent) in March to 7.2 million (36 percent).

It added that these families decided to tighten their belts, so to speak, in the past three months.

Up, down
According to SWS, there were positive changes in Balance of Luzon (Luzon without Metro Manila), but saw negative ones in the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) and Mindanao.

The pollster said that in Balance of Luzon, self-rated poverty dropped 16 points to a near-record low of 38 percent from 53 percent in March—the lowest for the area since the 22-percent registered in March 1987.

In contrast, self-rated poverty rose 13 points, from 49 percent to 62 percent in Metro Manila; and nine points, from 34 percent to 43 percent in Mindanao.

It, however, remained at 61 percent in the Visayas.

Self-rated poverty also fell by six points to 53 percent in rural areas and two points to 43 percent in urban areas.

Food poverty
The survey results also showed that in Balance of Luzon, self-rated food poverty slid from 42 percent to a record 28 percent, beating the previous low of 29 percent in March last year.

Food-poor ratings, however, worsened by seven points to 45 percent in Metro Manila and four points to 28 percent in Mindanao.

In the Visayas, food-poor figure improved from 51 percent in March to 48 percent.

According to the poll firm, the latest poverty/food-poverty findings were consistent with those on hunger.

It found hunger among the self-rated poor at 23.8 percent, more than thrice the 7.1 percent figure registered among those who did not consider themselves poor and 6.7 percent among people found on the borderline.

SWS said that among the self-rated food-poor, hunger was at 27 percent—about four times bigger the 7.1 percent figure recorded among the “not food-poor”—and almost three times the 9.9 percent figure registered among those on the borderline.

Those suffering from severe hunger, which the survey agency defined as one in which people “always” or “often” have nothing to eat in the last three months, was at 2.9 percent among poor households, 1.9 percent among non-poor ones and 0.5 percent among those on the borderline.

It was at 3.2 percent among the self-rated food-poor, 1.8 percent among the not food-poor and 0.8 percent among those on the borderline.

SWS said that people suffering from moderate hunger, which is defined as those experiencing it “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, was at 20.9 percent among poor households, 5.2 percent among the not-poor ones and 6.2 percent among those on the borderline.

It was at 23.7 percent among the self-rated food-poor, 5.2 percent among the not food-poor and 9.1 percent among those on the borderline.

The SWS survey, which was conducted from June 3 to 6, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent for national percentages and plus or minus 6 percent for area percentages.

SWS said that the latest survey was non-commissioned and conducted on its own initiative.