SWS Survey: Manila poverty line at P20K

MANILA - Filipino families say they now need at least P12,000 monthly to stay out of poverty, with those in Metro Manila placing the threshold even higher at P20,000, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

- Kristine Daguno-Bersamina/Philstar.com

The Self-Rated Poverty Threshold, or the minimum monthly budget that families say they need for home expenses not to consider themselves poor, rose for the first time this year to P12,000, up from P10,000 last quarter. The increase reflects the persistent rise in food, transport and utility costs.

Despite this adjustment, SWS noted that poverty thresholds have remained sluggish over time, suggesting that families have been lowering their standards and tightening their belts just to cope with the economic strain.

The nationwide survey, conducted from June 25 to 29, also found that 49% of Filipino families still consider themselves poor, slightly lower than the 50% recorded in April, but still equivalent to around 13.7 million households.

POVERTY, FOOD INSECURITY PERSIST

Broken down by region, Mindanao had the highest proportion of families rating themselves as poor at 69%, an 8-point jump from April.