MANILA – The Malacañang recently attributed to rising fuel prices the results of a latest survey showing more Filipinos believe their lives worsened during the second quarter of this year.
Fuel prices can impact the cost of goods and services as inflation climbed to a new five-year high of 5.7 percent in July.
“Well, naiintindihan po natin iyan. Dahil ang dami pong pagsubok, iyong pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina, dahil nga po sa presyo sa pandaigdigang merkado, pero nandoon pa rin iyong pag-asa ng mga tao na bubuti pa rin, dahil ang totoo naman po, ang fundamentals ay naririyan,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. told radio dzRH.
He also said the challenges to the country’s economy, which grew at a slower than expected 6 percent during the April to June period, are only temporary.
In its June 2018 survey, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that 32 percent of adult Filipinos said their lives improved (“gainers”) and 27 percent said their lives worsened (“losers”), for a net gainers score of +5.
Despite being classified by the SWS as “high,” the figure is still 15 points below the +20 (excellent) in March 2018. It is also the lowest since the +3 (high) in April 2016.
The survey also found that Filipino optimism over the quality of life remained “excellent,” with 49 percent expecting their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months (“optimists”), and 5 percent expecting it to get worse (“pessimists”).
This resulted in a net personal optimists score of +44, classified by SWS as excellent.
This is up four points up from the +40 (excellent) in March 2018.
The survey was conducted from June 27 to 30 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide.
The survey’s sampling error margins are ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. (GMA News)
