THE national Social Weather Survey of September 28-October 1, 2023, found 28% of adult Filipinos saying their quality-of-life was better than twelve months before (termed by SWS as “Gainers”), 30% saying it got worse (“Losers”), and 41% saying it was the same (“Unchanged”), compared to a year ago.
This gives a Net Gainers score of -2 (% Gainers minus % Losers), classified by SWS as fair (– 9 to zero)
The September 2023 Net Gainer score was 13 points below the very high +11 in June 2023.
It was the lowest since the -2 in June 2022.
The survey question on the respondents’ assessment of their change in quality of life in the past 12 months has been fielded 150 times since April 1983.
The Net Gainer score was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers until the drastic deterioration beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
It has since trended back upwards but has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
High in Balance Luzon, Fair in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao
The 13-point decline in the nationwide Net Gainer score between June 2023 and September 2023 was due to decreases in all areas.
Compared to June 2023, Net Gainers fell from very high to fair in Metro Manila, down by 27 points from +18 to -9.
It fell from very high to high in Balance Luzon, down by 10 points from +13 to +3.
It fell from very high to fair in the Visayas, down by 17 points from +10 to -7.
It fell from high to fair in Mindanao, down by 6 points from +2 to -4.
High among college graduates and junior high school graduates, Mediocre among elementary graduates and non-elementary graduates
Compared to June 2023, Net Gainers fell from excellent to high among college graduates, down by 16 points from +25 to +9 [Chart 4, Table 3].
It fell from very high to high among junior high school graduates, down by 14 points from +17 to +3.
It fell from fair to mediocre among elementary graduates, down by 9 points from -1 to -10.
It fell from high to mediocre among non-elementary graduates, down by 16 points from +1 to -15.
Net Gainers fall among both Non-Hungry and Hungry families
The September 2023 survey found that 9.8% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger – being hungry and not having anything to eat – at least once in the past three months (“SOCIAL WEATHER REPORT | Hunger falls from 10.4% in June 2023 to 9.8% in September 2023,” November 20, 2023, www.sws.org.ph).
Net Gainers were at fair -1 among Non-Hungry families, compared to the mediocre -12 among Moderately Hungry families and the low -21 among Severely Hungry families.
Compared to June 2023, the Net Gainers score fell from very high to fair among the Non-Hungry families, down by 14 points from +13 to -1. It fell from fair to mediocre among Moderately Hungry families, down by 4 points from -8 to -12. It fell from fair to low among Severely Hungry families, down by 15 points -6 to -21.
Net Gainers fall among Self-Rated Poor, Borderline, and Not Poor families
The September 2023 survey also found 48% of families rating themselves as Mahirap or Poor, 27% rating themselves as Borderline (by placing themselves on a horizontal line dividing Poor and Not Poor), and 25% rated themselves as Hindi Mahirap or Not Poor (“SOCIAL WEATHER REPORT | 48% of Filipino families feel Poor, up from 45% in June; 27% feel Borderline, and 25% feel Not Poor,” October 31, 2023, www.sws.org.ph).
The Self-Rated Poor are those who belong to households whose heads rated their family as poor or mahirap. This status is then adopted for all members of the household.
The Net Gainers score has historically been lower among the Poor than the Borderline and Not Poor. This means the Poor have more Losers and fewer Gainers than the Borderline and Not Poor.
Net Gainers were at high levels of +5 among the Not Poor and +4 among the Borderline, compared to the fair -9 among the Poor [Chart 6].
Compared to June 2023, the Net Gainers score fell from excellent to high among the Not Poor, down by 25 points from +30 to +5. It fell from very high to high among the Borderline, down by 14 points from +18 to +4. It stayed fair among the Poor, although down by 5 points from -4 to -9.
SWS classifications
The following are the classifications of Net Gainers scores: The grade “Excellent” is applied to scores at +20 and above; “Very High” to scores between +10 and +19; “High” to scores between +1 and +9; “Fair” to scores between –9 and zero; “Mediocre” to scores between –19 and –10; “Low” to scores between –29 and –20; “Very Low” to scores between –39 and –30; “Extremely Low” to scores at –49 to –40; and “Catastrophic” to scores –50 and below. (Up to December 2019, “Very Low” was the bottom-most category and was applied to scores –30 and below. In the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, new negative categories were delineated. In May 2020, the grade “Extremely Low” was added and applied to scores –40 and below; and in August 2020, the grade of “Catastrophic” was added for those scores below –50.)
