BY CARMELA FONBUENA
POSTED ON 01/20/2014 10:45 AM | UPDATED 01/20/2014 12:32 PM
POSTED ON 01/20/2014 10:45 AM | UPDATED 01/20/2014 12:32 PM
POOR AND HOMELESS. Makeshift
tents for poor families that have lost everything due to Super Typhoon Yolanda.
File photo by EPA
MANILA, Philippines –
It is hardly surprising but the newly released Pulse Asia survey conducted
December 8-15, 2013, shows how the series of disasters that hit the country in
2013 made many Filipinos feel that life got worse.
Asked how they will
compare their situation in December 2013 compared to the last 12 months, a
majority of 60% in the Visayas said their quality of life got worse. It's a
significant 22 percentage points increase from a similar survey conducted in
September.
The quality of life
survey is a yardstick often used to measure the best places to live in.
Pulse Asia chief
research fellow Ana Tabunda said the decline is attributed to the disasters in
the region. "Inflation in the devastated areas is also unusually
high," she added. (READ: Inflation
at 2-year high after Haiyan)
The December survey
followed a series of disasters that hit central Philippines. Among them was the
massive earthquake in October that devastated
Bohol and Cebu and the monster typhoon
Yolanda in November that flattened many towns and cities in
many parts of the Visayas.
Another 29% said they observed
"no change in their personal circumstances."
But it wasn't all that
gloomy for everyone there. There's an 11% that said their quality of life
improved. The survey's error margin is +/- 3 points.
Forty-one percent of
the respondents there said they're optimistic that the quality of their lives
will improve in the next 12 months. But 42% said it will be the same and 17%
think it will get worse.
Screenshot of Pulse Asia
survey
Life is not better for
big majority
The trend is repeated
nationwide, but it's not as bad as in the Visayas. A big majority or 84% of
Filipinos don't see improvement in their quality of lives in the last 12
months.
Forty-three percent of
Filipinos said their "quality of life have deteriorated. Another 41
percent said they observed "no change in their personal
circumstances."
Only 15% of the
population said they are in a better situation. The survey had 1,200
respondents nationwide.
Pulled by the numbers
in the Visayas, the nationwide survey shows a significant increase in Filipinos
who said the quality of their lives got worse from only 35% in the September
survey to 43% in the December survey.
Rich Filipinos
complaining, too
Broken down
geographically, the sample is too small to show significant deterioration in
the National Capital Region, Luzon, and Mindanao.
There's a striking
increase in unhappiness among the rich and middle-class Filipinos among the ABC
socio-demographic class. Forty-two percent of the ABC class said the quality of
their lives got worse. It is a notable increase of 27 points from 15% of them
who said life was getting worse in September to 42% who found themselves in
that situation in December.
Outside the Visayas,
the rest of the country including Metro Manila suffered destructive typhoons.
In February 2013, security in southern Mindanao was threatened when the Royal
Security Force of the late Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III attacked Lahad Datu in
Sabah. In September 2013, government forces and followers of Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari were caught in a 3-week standoff that killed
hundreds.
PH is not improving
There were differences
in how the respondents saw their personal situations and in how they see the
country's situation.
A majority of Filipinos
or 55% said the national quality of life is worse now. This is a 25 percentage
points increase from a similar survey conducted in March. This sentiment grew
across all geographic locations – Metro Manila (up 15 points), Luzon (Up 15
points), the Visayas (up 33 points), Mindanao (up 14 points) – from March to
December.
It is the same trend
across socio-demographic classes. Fifty-eight percent of Class ABC said life
got worse (up 25 points), 57% of D (up 30 points) and 48% of E (Up 14 points).
Another 36% said the
national quality of life is the same. Ony 9% said the country situation has
improved.
Most Filipinos (43%)
do not think that the country'a situation will improve in the next 12 months.
Thirty-one percent said it will get worse and only 26% said it will get better.
Economy is not getting
better
The Philippines
enjoyed economic gains in 2013, but the government recognizes that these gains
need to trickle down to the poorest of the population. In his July 2013 State
of the Nation Address (SONA), President Benigno Aquino III vowed to focus on "inclusive
growth."
The government has to
work harder. Based on the survey, 50% of Filipinos said the "state of the
national economy" is "worse now." Another 40% said it is the
same and only 11% said it is "better now."
Even as majority of
the respondents said they did not feel improvements in the economy, 61% percent
said they "feel somewhat" the "impact of the growth of the
national economy."
On the other hand, 62%
said they "strongly feel" the "impact of the deterioration of
the national economy on the respondent's life." – Rappler.com
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