|
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
More Pinoys believe economy worsens: survey
MANILA -- Despite President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's declaration that the Philippine economy is at its strongest in 30 years, two in three Filipinos or 66 percent say the economy worsened in the last three years, according to the February 21 to March 8 survey of Pulse Asia.
The survey, which had 1,200 respondents, showed that the sentiment is shared by 61 to 74 percent of the people in all geographic locations and socioeconomic classes.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Only 11 percent of Filipinos said the economy is better now than in 2005, while 23 percent said it was the same.
Among those who said the economy has deteriorated in the past three years, 75 percent said they felt the impact in their own lives, 22 percent said it had some impact, while four percent said they did not feel any impact at all.
Of the 11 percent who said the economy improved, only 56 percent said they felt the improvement in their lives. Forty-three percent of those in Mindanao have strongly felt the improvement in the economy.
Difficult times
Filipinos continue to feel the pinch of the difficult times, with 71 percent or about 12.8 million families saying they are very poor. It was the same level in July and October 2007 (75 percent and 68 percent, respectively).
Nearly six in 10 Filipinos (59 percent) said their personal quality of life worsened in the past year, a sentiment expressed by 48 to 68 percent of respondents in all geographic areas and socioeconomic classes.
Only 10 percent said their lives are better off while 31 percent said there was no change in the quality of their lives in the past 12 months.
On the national quality of life, 71 percent of Filipinos believe that the lives of their countrymen became worse in the past 12 months, a view shared by 65 percent (Luzon) to 81 percent (Mindanao) of respondents.
Only six percent believe that the national quality of life improved, while 23 percent said it was unchanged.
Negative news
Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said the survey results were negative because it was conducted while government was in the middle of all the negative news about alleged corruption.
Golez said the Pulse Asia survey contradicted the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which showed self-rated poverty at its lowest in 20 years.
He said government has been increasing its spending on basic services and infrastructure.
"We expect to see a decline of our poverty rate with more people experiencing the fruits of our economic growth in the months and years to come," said Golez.
Presidential Management Staff director general Cerge Remonde, for his part, said in a text message that it "always takes time" for the benefits of economic growth to reach the masses, which is why it should be sustained. He said it is also a good reason to set aside partisan politics.
Remonde said the survey results should be considered a "challenge" for all sectors to work harder for the poor. (JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (April 1, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
