MORE THAN 3 in 10 Filipinos (34%) reported that their families found it ‘always’ or ‘often’ difficult to meet basic necessities in the past three months, according to a September 2024 survey by non-partisan public opinion firm WR Numero. This marks a decline from December 2023, when half of all families (51%) reported frequent struggles. (See Figure 1)
The latest Philippine Public Opinion Monitor asked Filipinos about how often their households experienced challenges in providing basic necessities such as food, shelter, transportation, and others for their families in the past three months.
The nationwide survey also revealed that around 35% of Filipino families experienced the same difficulty ‘sometimes’. Meanwhile, 3 in 10 Filipinos (31%) reported that their families ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ experienced difficulty in meeting basic needs in the past three months. (See Figure 1)
More households from Class E (37%) and Class D (27%) reported ‘always’ or ‘often’ struggling to meet their basic needs, compared to just 21% of families from Class ABC. Conversely, over half of Class ABC families (51%) ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ faced such difficulties, a higher proportion than those in Classes D (31%) and E (28%). (See Figure 2)
In our December 2023 survey, a great majority of Filipinos from Class E (55%) reported their families found it ‘always’ or ‘often’ difficult to cover basic necessities, followed by Classes ABC and D, both at 38%. (See Figure 2)
Over the past three months, 38% of Metro Manila residents said their families ‘always’ or ‘often’ struggled to meet basic needs, followed by Mindanao (36%), Visayas (35%), and the rest of Luzon (32%). In contrast, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon had the highest percentage of families that ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ faced such hardships (37% each), while Visayas and Mindanao followed with 27% and 17%, respectively. (See Figure 3)
Our December 2023 survey showed that 7 in 10 Filipinos in Visayas (70%) reported that it was ‘always’ or ‘often’ difficult for their households to fulfill their basic needs. Metro Manila followed with 53%, then Mindanao (49%), and the Rest of Luzon (44%).
This nationally representative face-to-face survey was conducted from September 5 to 23, 2024, with a sample of 1,729 adults aged 18 and older. The non-commissioned survey has a margin of error of ± 2% at a 95% confidence level. At the subnational level, the margin of error is ± 6% for the National Capital Region, ± 5% for North and Central Luzon, ± 5% for South Luzon, ± 6% for Visayas, and ± 5% for Mindanao, all at the same 95% confidence level.
