A majority of Filipinos – 59 percent — rated themselves poor, according to the Social Weather Stations in its survey conducted September 2024. This was the highest percentage of self-rated poverty since 2008. Self-rated poverty was highest in Mindanao (67 percent). Meanwhile, 52 percent of Metro Manilans said they were poor, a 13-percentage-point increase from the 39 percent registered in June.
Some 13 percent of those surveyed said they were borderline, or on the line dividing poor and not poor, The remaining 28 percent said they were not poor.
People’s perception that they were poor increased by 1 percentage point from the 58 percent registered in June, which itself jumped 12 points from the 46 percent registered in March.
The release of these numbers provides an interesting backdrop to the parade of candidates filing their certificates in the past few days.
Candidates for national and local posts, regardless of their political color, have one thing in common: all of them profess their intention to help their constituents. Even if they purport to pick their advocacy area – better healthcare, for instance, or the fight against corruption, or protection of the environment, or the enforcement of peace and order – all these in one way or the other are made to alleviate the hardships of the people and provide them a better quality of life.
Whether or not these promises are sincere and backed by concrete and actionable plans are another matter.
Different people will have varying notions of how poverty can be alleviated. Some think in the long term, contemplating the availability of jobs, the importance of education, and other factors that will slowly – not immediately – ensure that more Filipinos are able to meet their basic needs consistently. This is the kind of voters who appreciate the citing of data, targets and timetables, and performance indicators, in candidates’ campaign promises. They are the ones who look more closely at candidates’ educational background, service history, or past performance.
Tragically, many might think of poverty alleviation as being handed out something to meet their needs for the day or in the immediate term. They are not to be blamed – after all, before one is able to aim higher in the hierarchy of needs or reach their full potential, fundamental needs must first be addressed. How can one, after all, contemplate loftier ideals or fight for the rights of others if one is hungry, or does not have a stable source of income, or has no roof over one’s head?
This is likely why many of us are still swayed by the appeals of those who package themselves as the answer to the people’s prayer, even if the “solutions” they offer are only for the immediate term, with the roots of the problem conveniently ignored.
But this is not supposed to be the case. The public’s reaction to the near-circus that was the COC filing indicates a hunger for a breed of candidates that do not thrive by doling out tokens or little favors to the people who would vote for them, capitalizing on their self-image as poor and desperate for assistance.
Most Filipinos may still see themselves as poor. This will take a lot more work and a longer time to address. For the next elections, however, let us at least aim to rate ourselves, even as many are poor, as wise, discriminating voters who demand much from their leaders.
