MORE than half of Filipino families still believe themselves to be poor with at least a third of them claiming that the food they eat is good only for the poor, according to the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations.
But Malacañang chose to highlight the finding that self-rated poverty decreased by four percent while “food poverty” decreased by two percent. The margin of error for the survey was set at ±3 percent for national averages and ±6 percent for regional averages.
“We acknowledge the latest Social Weather Station Survey on self-rated poverty and self-rated food-poverty showing a decrease in the number of Filipino families who considered themselves as poor and ‘food-poor’ at 50 percent and 33 percent respectively,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.
“We note that the rating for self-rated hunger is the lowest since 2011 while the rating for self-rated food poverty is two percentage points lower than the 35 percent recorded in September last year,” said Coloma.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, on the other hand, stressed that the same survey showed that President Benigno Aquino III’s approval and trust ratings remains high at 55 percent and 53 percent respectively.
The survey was conducted from Dec. 5 to 8 last year, a few days before the SWS held their voter preference survey which showed Senator Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay in a close fight for the top.
“We welcome the continued high approval ratings of the President,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.
“Ordinarily, if you look at the historical surveys on the last term of a president, normally the approval ratings go down,” Lacierda said.
“For one reason or another, it happens. In this President, you see a reversal of that trend,” Lacierda said.
“It has been marked by consistent high approval ratings and certainly we welcome that. It shows the continued trust of the people on the programs and the efforts of President Aquino and in his principle that no one should be left behind,” Lacierda said.