Fewer Filipinos felt hunger and rated themselves poor in the first quarter of this year than in the last three months of 2023, according to the latest OCTA Research survey conducted from March 11 -14.
The Tugon ng Masa survey found that 42 percent, or nearly 11.1 million families, felt their situation got better this year, down three percent from the 45 percent of 11.9 million self-rated poor families in a similar survey held in the fourth quarter of 2023.
ANTI-POVERTY CAMPAIGN President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the kick-off activity of the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP) in Tondo, Manila on July 18, 2023. OCTA Research’s Tugon ng Masa survey conducted from March 11 to 14, 2024 showed the country’s self-rated poverty decreased to 42 percent compared to 45 percent recorded in a similar survey held in the fourth quarter of 2023. PNA
OCTA said the 3-percent decrease, translating to around 800,000 families, represents a "continuing downward trend in self-rated poverty" observed since July 2023, when self-rated poverty was at 50 percent. "It must be noted that self-rated poverty has been going down at a modest rate for the last five quarters starting July 2023," it said.
The pollster explained that among those who considered their families poor, the median amount they need for home expenses not to be called poor anymore is PHP20,000 per month.
Self-rated poverty was highest in Mindanao at 71 percent, followed by the Visayas at 47 percent, Metro Manila at 29 percent, and Balance Luzon at 28 percent.
In terms of self-rated hunger, the survey found that around 11 percent, or an estimated 2.9 million Filipino families, experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months.
The March 2024 self-rated hunger figure is 3 percent lower than the recorded 14 percent, or around 3.7 million families, in the December 2023 survey.
Across major areas, respondents who said their families experienced hunger were highest among those in the Visayas at 13 percent (from 19 percent), followed by those in Mindanao at 12 percent (from 18 percent), Balance Luzon at 9 percent (from 11 percent) and Metro Manila at 9 percent (from 8 percent).
Meanwhile, some 37 percent of the respondents, or an estimated 11.1 million Filipino families, said they consider their families "food-poor" or "struggle to obtain a sufficient and healthful diet."
This finding represents a significant 5 percent dip from the December 2023 survey that recorded 42 percent of those rated as food-poor. The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of over 1,200 adults nationwide.
The survey has a ±3% margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level.
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