4 in 10 Filipinos optimistic about next 12 months – SWS

MANILA, Philippines – Four in 10 Filipinos look forward to an improvement in their lives in the the next 12 months, the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

Asked if they experienced a change in their quality of life over the past 12 months, 28% of respondents said they experienced an improvement, while 26% said the opposite.

This translates into a net gain of +3, lower than the +6 recorded in March 2015, but still enough to make it the third highest ever recorded by the SWS. The highest level was +11 in March 1987, under then President Corazon Aquino. 

Optimists outweighed pessimists when it came to the Philippine economy, as the poll results  showed that 3 in 10 Filipinos or 31% believed that the economy would improve in the next 12 months, against 15% who said it would deteriorate.

Mindanao, poorest Class E most optimistic

The people of Mindanao are the most optimistic about the economy and quality of life changes, with a net personal optimism (percentage of optimists minus pessimists) of +40, followed by Luzon (+37), the National Capital region (+36), and Visayas (+26).

The SWs classified the net personal optimism in Mindanao, Luzon, and NCR  as “very high,” and  Visayas, “high.”

Mindanao also led the country in net optimism, posting a score of +19, followed by Luzon (+17), and  Visayas (+14) – all regarded as “very high.” NCR had a “high” net optimism of +7, making it the least optimistic region.

Despite the optimism in Mindanao, the respondents in the region posted the lowest score among net gainers  with a balance of -5. Visayas also had a negative balance of -1. Both were classified by SWS as “fair.”

The biggest gainer was Luzon with a net gain balance of +8, followed by NCR with a balance of +2 – both classified as “high”

Among social classes, the poorest class E posted the highest net personal optimism of +39, followed by the well-off class ABC at +37, and class D at +35.

Class D posted the highest net optimism category with a balance of +21, with class D +15, and class ABC at +9.

All classes were classified by SWS as “very high.”

Class E, however, posted the only negative balance in the net gain category with a balance of -12, which SWS deems as ”Mediocre.”

The country’s richest gained the most according to the survey, with a net gain balance of +12 (Very high) followed by class D at +5 (high).

‘Validation’

Malacañang cited the latest survey results as validation of the Aquino administration’s economic and poverty alleviation program.

“Most significantly, net optimism about the economy rose to ‘Very High’ in classes E and D, thereby validating the effectiveness of the administration’s targeted and purposive poverty reduction and social safety-net programs,” Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said in a statement on Tuesday, August 4.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide, with 300 respondents each in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The poll used sampling error margins of 3% for national percentages, and 6%  for the sampled area percentages. – Rappler.com