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GMA Network
3 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
SWS: 50% of Filipino families rate themselves poor
Half of Filipino families rated themselves poor in a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey held from April 23 to 28, 2025. According to the SWS, the score was 5 points lower than the earlier survey conducted from April 11 to 15, 2025. SWS attributed the drop to declines in Metro Manila and Mindanao, as well as steady scores in Mindanao and Balance Luzon. Self-rated poverty was highest in the Visayas at 67% and lowest in Metro Manila at 33%. Meanwhile, 8% of Filipino families reported themselves as borderline between poor and not poor, while 42% said that they were not poor. The results for borderline hit a record low, surpassing the 11% score in December 2024, while the percentage of not poor families increased by 10 points from 32% in April 11-15, 2025, to a new record high of 42% in April 23-28, 2025. This eclipsed the previous record of 36% in March 2025. Of the estimated 14.1 million self-rated poor families in the survey taken from April 23-28, 2.2 million were newly poor, 2.3 million were usually poor, and 9.5 million were always poor. The nationwide median self-rated poverty threshold (SRP threshold) remained at P10,000 from December 2024 to April 2025, while the nationwide median self-rated poverty gap (SRP gap) stayed at P5,000 from September 2024 to April 2025. The median monthly family expenses nationwide based on the April 23-28 survey were as follows: - House Rent: P3,000 - Transportation: P2,000 - Internet: P800 - Mobile Load: P400 Data from the study was gathered through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 Filipino adults nationwide. SWS said the sampling error margins were ±3% for national percentages, ±4% in Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
The Star
01-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte agrees with poll: She should be tried
MANILA: Vice President Sara Duterte (pic) said she agreed with an overwhelming majority of Filipinos that she should be tried by an impeachment court for corruption and other high crimes, but she has not withdrawn her petition in the Supreme Court questioning her impeachment. 'Oh, I totally agree,' she said of the results of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll that she should be tried by the Senate after she was impeached by the House of Representatives on Feb. 5. 'I'm among those 88 per cent who say that,' she told reporters and supporters on Friday (May 30) outside the International Criminal Court detention center in The Hague, the Netherlands, where her father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, is being held. Her office provided the media in the Philippines with a copy of the video interview with her. 'I'm thankful for the opportunity to clear my name and answer the accusations against me,' Duterte said. The impeachment complaint accuses her of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust for, among others, her alleged misuse of more than P612 million (US$110 million) in confidential funds and for her alleged threat to assassinate President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez. She spoke in The Hague on May 30, on the eve of her 47th birthday, which she planned to celebrate with her father and their supporters. The former president is accused of murder as a crime against humanity for the thousands killed in his brutal antinarcotics campaign that he implemented as mayor of Davao City and later as president. The May 2025 SWS survey on 'people's post-election expectations' released on Thursday, showed that 68 percent of the 1,800 respondents nationwide said that the Vice President 'definitely should address the impeachment charges, answer all allegations pertaining to corruption and clear her name.' It showed that 20 per cent said that she 'probably should' do the same. Only four per cent said that Duterte 'probably should not' and three per cent said she 'definitely should not,' results of the survey showed. Four per cent were unsure what to say. The poll also saw a consensus that Duterte should focus more on her work as Vice President and minimise any politically driven activities. Asked to comment on the deferment of the start of the impeachment trial to June 11 instead of June 2, when the Congress resumes session, Duterte said she saw no impact of the delay on her case, but would leave it to her lawyers to study the developments further. Also in the Netherlands was Sen. Imee Marcos, the eldest sister of President Marcos. Duterte had a bitter falling out with Marcos, unraveling their formidable UniTeam that swept the 2022 national elections. Marcos said on his inaugural BBM Podcast that he was willing to reconcile with the Dutertes because he needed more friends than enemies. 'I probably won't talk about reconciliation because people's personal problems aren't important. What's more important is our people and our country,' Duterte said in response to his remarks. She said the President's sister, whose reelection she supported in the recent midterm polls, was in The Hague to speak with her father's lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman. 'Whatever it is they talked about, I have nothing to do with it anymore,' she said. The Vice President and her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman Duterte, were able to see her father for a 'prebirthday' celebration. A 'send Duterte home' rally is scheduled to take place outside the detention center on her birthday on Saturday. She earlier said she was eager to see the trial through because she wanted a 'bloodbath.' She did not elaborate on what she meant. While Duterte committed to face the charges against her in the impeachment court, she did not say anything about the petition she filed on Feb. 18 in the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the impeachment process. Duterte accused the House of Representatives and its secretary general, Reginald Velasco, of withholding the first three complaints against her allegedly to circumvent the one-year ban on the filing of more than one complaint against an impeachable official. She said that the House only acted on the fourth complaint, which was signed by 215 of around 300 members of the chamber. The fourth petition, however, contained essentially the same charges against her in the three others. 'This political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards … with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office,' she said in her petition. Duterte is a probable contender in the May 2028 presidential election. Another petition was filed just hours after her own petition by several of her supporters. They asked the Supreme Court to stop the Senate from convening into an impeachment court. Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said then that Duterte and the other petitioners were 'running scared … perhaps the allegations of corruption are true.' Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon said Duterte's move 'reeks of panic and a blatant effort to undermine the impeachment process even before it formally begins.' ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro criticised Duterte for flying to the Netherlands to celebrate 'with more lies and political theatrics' instead of reflecting on her actions ahead of her impeachment trial. 'The Filipino people deserve transparency, not squid tactics,' Castro said. 'On her birthday, we challenge VP Duterte to choose truth over deception, accountability over evasion. The impeachment process is constitutional and legitimate—she should respect it instead of undermining it with her desperate antics,' the lawmaker said. Other ACT leaders slammed the fresh delay in the start of the impeachment trial, which they called a 'calculated scheme' to quash the proceedings altogether. ACT Representative-elect Antonio Tinio said the delay signals an attempt to 'kill the impeachment trial through procedural maneuvering rather than addressing the serious charges on their merits.' He said that the 'delaying tactics make a mockery of our democratic institutions and constitutional processes.' 'If impeachment proceedings can be killed through procedural technicalities and political alignments, then no high official will ever be held accountable for corruption and abuse of power,' Tinio said. He was particularly concerned about how the delay strategy 'was seemingly being orchestrated across party lines,' noting that Marcos himself again publicly expressed his opposition to the trial. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
Independent Singapore
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Independent Singapore
Why the Philippines' poorest may choose survival over standing up to China
Filipinos are among the largest group of migrants working as domestic staff abroad, whose lives are often far from easy. Ritchie B Tongo/EPA PHILIPPINES: A survey by the pollster Social Weather Stations commissioned by the Stratbase Group shows 75% of Filipinos favour Senate candidates who assert the republic's maritime privileges in the West Philippine Sea. However, among those who live below the poverty level, categorised as Class E, 41% are in favour of candidates who are not planning to make this issue a priority. That's pointedly more than the national average of 25%. According to the latest SCMP report, political analysts attribute this to the daily economic hardships that this group faces and how foreign policy is frequently relegated to the background in favour of survival. Political science professionals also emphasise that, in many campaigns, candidates focus more on jobs, food issues take centre stage, and local needs are highlighted more instead of issues of national sovereignty or maritime rights. Disinformation and political messaging targeting the poor Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase, cautioned that underprivileged communities are being 'disproportionately influenced' by propaganda and half-truths disseminated through Chinese-backed social media campaigns. 'Class E's daily fight for survival leaves them more susceptible to these manipulations,' Manhit said. The matter is not new. In 2024, a bogus news flash regarding impending civil warfare in the Philippines was discovered to have come from Chinese social media sources. The National Security Council has since found 'indications' that the Chinese government is steering synchronised 'influence manoeuvres' targeted at influencing Filipino voters' decisions. China denies meddling, while political lines blur The Chinese embassy in Manila denied any form of participation in the so-called manoeuvring activities, calling the allegations monstrous and condemning these accusations as tactics to make China an election issue. However, the consular declaration has not subdued the apprehensions, particularly as China-friendly personalities, together with cronies of former president Rodrigo Duterte, have stayed prominent in the political race. At present, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s government is making an effort to detach itself from these blocs, stressing a harder stance on sovereignty. Nonetheless, for millions of Filipino voters, especially the poor, the issue regarding the West Philippine Sea remains a distant problem unless it directly affects their livelihood, such as fisherfolk who depend on fishing rights.
South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Why Philippines' poorest voters may not back hardline anti-China candidates
With less than two weeks to go before the Philippines ' midterm elections, a new survey shows a surprising divergence in voter preferences over Manila's maritime dispute with China – particularly among the country's poorest. Advertisement While an overwhelming 75 per cent of Filipinos say they prefer Senate candidates who will assert the Philippines' rights over the West Philippine Sea – Manila's name for parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone – that number drops sharply among the nation's most economically vulnerable, according to a survey by pollster Social Weather Stations, commissioned by the Stratbase Group. Among Filipinos in class E – those living below the poverty line – 41 per cent said they would vote for candidates who do not plan to assert the country's maritime claims, far higher than the national average of 25 per cent. Analysts have linked the trend to the reach of China-backed disinformation and the dominance of bread-and-butter issues for lower-income voters, many of whom are more concerned with economic survival than foreign policy. A woman sorts plastic items from piles of rubbish to be sold at recycling shops in Manila. Over 40 per cent of Filipinos living below the poverty line say they would vote for candidates who do not plan to assert the country's maritime claims. Photo: AFP Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase, said the results showed how disinformation had disproportionately influenced class E voters, making them 'the primary targets and victims' of Beijing's information operations ahead of the elections on May 12.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Philippine president's allies poised to take key posts in midterms, poll shows
By Mikhail Flores MANILA (Reuters) - Senate candidates backed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr look set to dominate May midterm elections, with a new poll showing them taking three-quarters of available seats, despite attempts to discredit the government over the arrest of former leader Rodrigo Duterte. Packed with political heavyweights and wielding outsized influence, the Senate has a high profile in the Philippines, where midterm elections for 12 of its 24 seats are closely watched as a barometer of public support for the president. The Social Weather Stations poll of 1,800 voters was conducted four days after the still-popular Duterte was transferred to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity over a bloody war on drugs that killed thousands of people during his 2016-2022 presidency. His army of diehard supporters, many online, were quick to portray him as a persecuted hero, framing his arrest as a foreign "kidnapping" facilitated by the Marcos government, which has rejected that. The May 12 elections have been billed as a proxy battle between the influential Duterte and Marcos families following the acrimonious collapse of their once powerful alliance that propelled Marcos to power in in 2022, with the former president's daughter, Sara Duterte as vice president. The handover of the elder Duterte to the International Criminal Court was a major blow for a family that has had a stunning change of fortunes, coming only a month after his daughter was impeached by a lower house led by allies of Marcos. Sara Duterte, who has been tipped as a contender for the 2028 presidency, will go on trial at the Senate later this year and faces removal from her post and a lifetime ban from holding office. The Senators will serve as jurors and to convict Duterte, a two-thirds majority is needed. The complaint against her stems from allegations she misused public funds, amassed unexplained wealth, and threatened the lives of Marcos, the first lady and the lower house speaker. Duterte has dismissed the allegations and her father's arrest as politically motivated with the 2028 presidency in mind. But she still has allies in the Senate and the latest survey indicates two loyalists are likely to be reelected, a former Duterte presidential aide and an ex-police chief who spearheaded the drugs crackdown, which could boost her survival chances. The May elections will also contest 317 congressional seats and thousands of local posts. Among the candidates is Rodrigo Duterte, running for mayor of his hometown of Davao City, even while detained at The Hague. Despite fierce criticism over the arrest of the former president, Marcos looks almost certain to consolidate his power in the midterms, according to veteran political analyst and former presidential adviser Ronald Llamas. "This is now a battle for the government to lose," he said.
