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Around two of every three Filipinos believe that the
national economy is worse than it was three years ago, the latest
Pulse Asia survey showed. The survey results were released Monday.
The Pulse Asia survey also showed
that around three of every four Filipinos consider themselves as
very poor or poor.
Malacañang said the survey
results do not reflect the real economic conditions of the country.
“While Pulse Asia admitted that
when [its latest] survey was done, the government was in the middle
of negative news and allegations of corruption which [made] it
appear that the country was in a bad shape and [such news and graft
charges] unfavorably influenced the subjective responses of the
respondents,” Deputy Press Secretary Anthony Golez said.
The Pulse Asia survey results
clash with those of a similar poll on poverty conducted by the
Social Weather Stations (SWS) last year, he added.
The Pulse Asia survey “also
contradicts the latest SWS survey done on self-rated poverty where
it stated that in 2007, we have the lowest self-rated poverty
incidence in 20 years,” he said.
Golez also said the government
has been increasing its spending on basic services and
infrastructure, while the country continues to enjoy a low inflation
rate and a decreased budget deficit.
The survey, conducted from
February 21 to March 8, found out that 66 percent feel that the
country’s economy has not improved while only 11 percent believe
that the economy is now in a better situation than in 2005.
Some 23 percent said they feel
that there is no change in the economy between 2005 and today.
Among the majority saying the
national economy has deteriorated in the past three years, 75
percent said they strongly feel this deterioration in their own
lives, Pulse Asia reported. Only 4 percent said the decline in the
national economy did not have any impact on their personal
situation. Some 22 percent of the respondents felt that the
worsening of the country’s economy had some effect on their own
lives.
Pulse Asia, in its report, said
in the case of those who believe the Philippine economy improved,
around 56 percent said they somewhat feel this improvement of the
economy in their own lives.
Very poor or poor
The survey showed that majority
of Filipinos, at 71 percent, consider themselves to be very poor or
poor.
This figure, Pulse Asia noted, is
nearly the same as that recorded in July 2007, at 75 percent, and in
October 2007, at 68 percent.
Around 15 percent consider
themselves as well-off and wealthy and 14 percent consider
themselves “on-the-line.”
This latest national survey was
conducted using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents who
are 18 years old and older. The survey has a margin of error of plus
or minus 3 percent.
--Rommel C. Lontayao And Angelo S. Samonte
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