Although most Filipino families may celebrate a bountiful Christmas, some still face a “Paskong Tuyo” (dry Christmas), where the means to have a Noche Buena feast are scarce.

Maritess Seguilla, a household helper, celebrates Christmas with just dried fish on the table. Although she receives an “Aguinaldo” (Christmas gift) from her employer, the money isn’t for food but to buy new clothes for her two children, who will go around the neighborhood asking for presents.

“There is other food, but there is still a lesson. Because that’s what keeps us from going hungry. It has become our family’s source of nourishment during the off-season from Christmas,” she shared in Filipino.

Maritess’ husband works as a construction worker in Iloilo, but his income is insufficient to support their family of seven.

“He even messaged me, saying he couldn’t give the 13th month bonus because he used it to pay his debt in Iloilo. He couldn’t even buy new clothes for the kids, so I’ll rely on my employer’s gift,” Maritess lamented.

Maritess, an informal employee in a household, earns below the minimum wage. Although her employer gave her a Christmas bonus along with her last salary of the year, she cannot spend all the money because she needs to save for December’s rent and utilities.

According to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey from October, a significant number of Filipinos still consider themselves poor.

The national survey found that 59 percent of Filipino families rate themselves as poor, up from 58 percent in June. This translates to 16.3 million Filipino families, reflecting a 300,000 increase from June 2024.

Despite the challenges, most businesses are optimistic about the upcoming year, expecting increased demand for goods and services like agricultural products, infrastructure projects, shipping, distribution, and transportation services during the Christmas season.

Consumer confidence also showed a slight improvement, though it remains in the negative.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Consumer Expectation Survey, consumer confidence increased to -11.1 percent from -15.6 percent in the third quarter.

The same survey found that consumers are hopeful for higher income, more working family members, more job opportunities, and permanent employment.