The national Social Weather Survey of April 19-27, 2022, the latest quarterly national survey finalized by SWS, found 43 percent of Filipino families rating themselves as poor, 34 percent rating themselves as borderline poor (by placing themselves on a horizontal line dividing poor and not poor), and 23 percent rating themselves as not poor.

These levels are similar to those in December 2021, when 43 percent felt poor, 39 percent felt borderline poor, and 19 percent felt not poor.

The estimated numbers of self-rated poor families are 10.9 million in April and 10.7 million in December 2021.

SWS has measured Self-Rated Poverty (SRP) quarterly by face-to-face surveys ever since 1992, except in the first three quarters of 2020 when it was not possible for lack of public transportation during the pandemic.

SWS resumed the SRP surveys in the 4th quarter of 2020, up to the present.

The steady self-rated poor between December 2021 and April 2022 was due to increases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with decreases in the Visayas and Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila).

Compared to December 2021, self-rated poor rose in Mindanao from 43 percent to 60 percent and in Metro Manila from 25 percent to 32 percent.

However, it fell in the Visayas from 59 percent to 48 percent, and in Balance Luzon from 41 percent to 35 percent.

On the other hand, borderline door rose in the Visayas from 33 percent to 46 percent. However, it fell in Mindanao from 48 percent to 33 percent, in Balance Luzon from 34 percent to 28 percent, and in Metro Manila from 47 percent to

42 percent. SWS