Jamayka Rhose Pascual

More than half of Filipino families continue to consider themselves poor, according to the latest survey released by Social Weather Stations (SWS) in March 2025.

Photo Courtesy of The ASEAN Post/ABS-CBN.

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,800 adults across Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Based on the report, 52% of households, approximately 14.4 million families, rated themselves as “poor.”

This reflects a slight increase from 52% in February, following a significant drop from 63% in December 2024.

Despite earlier signs of recovery at the start of the year, the latest findings suggest that many families remain challenged by daily economic hardship.

The survey also found that 12% of families identified as “borderline,” signaling that a notable portion of the population feels just one crisis or challenge away from falling into poverty.

Meanwhile, 36% of the respondents said they were “not poor”, the highest percentage recorded in the survey’s history.

However, regional data reveal that this improvement is not evenly felt across the country.

In the Visayas, 62% of families still see themselves as poor, making it the region with the highest self-rated poverty.

Mindanao followed closely with 60%, highlighting the ongoing struggles faced in the southern communities.

Both regions have long faced development gaps, such as limited employment opportunities and unequal access to basic services.

In Balance Luzon, the percentage of families who considered themselves poor rose slightly from 45% in February to 46% in March.

Metro Manila, on the other hand, experienced a slight decline in poverty perception from 44% to 41%.

This drop is believed to be linked to the capital’s better access to public services, employment, and support programs.

The SWS also noted an alarming increase in hunger among families identified as poor.

From February to March, hunger cases among the self-rated families grew from 26.4% to 35.6%.

Even among families who considered themselves borderline or not poor, hunger slightly increased from 16.2% to 18.3%.