More than half of Filipino families considered themselves poor in September, with self-rated poverty rising to 55% from 49% in June, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Tuesday.
The quarterly survey estimated that 16.8 million families identified themselves as “mahirap” or poor, up from 13.6 million in the previous quarter.
Self-rated food poverty also increased, rising eight percentage points to 44% from 36% in June. This represents approximately 13.3 million families who said they struggled to afford food, compared with 10.2 million three months earlier.
Luzon outside Metro Manila recorded the sharpest increase in self-rated poverty, climbing 10 percentage points to 51%.
Mindanao posted the highest proportion of families who considered themselves poor at 64%, followed by the Visayas at 63%, Luzon outside Metro Manila at 51%, and Metro Manila at 44%.
The survey also found that families needed a median monthly budget of P15,000 to cover general household expenses without feeling poor, up from P14,000 in June. The median amount needed for food alone rose to P8,000 from P6,000 nationwide.
SWS noted that self-rated poverty thresholds have remained relatively stagnant in recent years despite inflation, suggesting that struggling households may be cutting back on necessities and lowering their living standards.
Meanwhile, 7.2% of respondents, equivalent to about 2.2 million families, were classified as “newly poor,” meaning they had fallen into poverty within the past four years.
Another 38.7%, or approximately 11.7 million families, said they had never escaped poverty.
The findings come amid rising inflation this year following US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, which escalated tensions in the Middle East and drove up global oil prices.
