MANILA, Philippines – Though just 29% of Filipinos said in a survey that their quality of life improved compared to a year ago, this still earned a rating of “high” in the Social Weather Stations (SWS) Net Gainers score.

Other findings of the nationwide SWS which compared the respondents quality-of-life from the previous year, was 25% said it got worse (termed by SWS as “losers”), and 46% said it was the same (“unchanged”), compared to a year ago.

Using the SWS formula to compute the Net Gainers score (29% gainers minus 25% losers, correctly rounded), the result is a +5 tally which is classified as “high.” In the SWS classification of Net Gainers scores, marks of +1 to +9 are graded as “high.”

SWS said that “high” rating showed that the Net Gainers score “trended back upwards but still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.”

SWS described the tailspin in the Net Gainers score in 2020 as “the drastic deterioration beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.”

The public mood was so bad during the lockdowns that “new negative categories” were created by SWS. The survey agency said: “Up to December 2019, ‘Very Low’ was the bottom-most category and was applied to scores –30 and below.”

During the onslaught of Covid-19, SWS added the grade ‘Extremely Low’ on May 2020 and “applied to scores –40 and below.” But public mood still got worst, and in August 2020, the grade of “Catastrophic” was added for those scores below –50.

The March 2023 Net Gainer score was just 3 points below the “high” +8 in December 2022.

However, it is still 13 points below the pre-pandemic level of “very high” +18 in December 2019.

The survey was conducted from March 26 to 29, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.

Luzon rates highest

Quality of life in Balance Luzon stayed “very high” up by 2 points from +10 to +12. In other areas, scores dropped.

Comppared to December 22, in Metro Manila the net score dropped by 16 points from a “very high” +18 to “high” +2.

Mindanao went from “very high” to high” down by 4 points from +10 to +6.

Visayas has the lowest score, falling from “fair” to “mediocre,” down by 10 points from -4 to -14.

Read the full SWS report here. – Rappler.com