At least 44 percent of Filipinos expect the quality of their lives to improve in the next 12 months, while the same number of Filipinos say it will stay the same, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
Only 5% said it will worsen during the same period and the remaining 7% did not give an answer, the SWS said Wednesday.
The survey was conducted from Dec. 8-11, 2023. It polled 1,200 respondents nationwide.
This resulted in a net personal optimism score of +39, which the polling firm classifies as “very high”, which was slightly down from the “excellent” +42 recorded in September.
The SWS attributed the three-point decline in the national net personal optimism to “a decrease in Balance Luzon, a slight decline in the Visayas, combined with a steady score in Mindanao and a marked increase in Metro Manila.”
Meanwhile, the score was steady in Mindanao, and Filipinos living in Metro Manila were more optimistic.
While Balance Luzon maintained its “excellent” net personal optimism, it still dropped by 10 points, from +50 to +40, although Metro Manila residents gained 17 points, from +30 to +47.
Visayas experienced a slight decrease from +30 to +27, going from “very high” to “high.” It has the lowest net personal optimism among the three main island groups, SWS said.
Mindanao’s optimism, on the other hand, stayed the same at an “excellent” +43.