1 in 3 Filipinos say quality of life worsened, SWS survey shows

One in three Filipinos said their quality of life had worsened over the past 12 months despite government efforts to improve living conditions, according to the latest Social Weather Stations survey.

The survey, conducted from 20 to 29 June, found that 33 percent of adult Filipinos considered themselves “Losers,” or those whose quality of life had worsened. Another 34 percent said their situation was unchanged, while 33 percent considered themselves “Gainers,” or those whose lives had improved.

This resulted in a Net Gainers score of zero, which SWS classified as “fair.”

“This is 26 points up from the low -26 in March 2026, reversing three consecutive quarterly declines from the very high +12 in June 2025, to fair -2 in September 2025, and fair -7 in November 2025, before falling further to low -26 in March 2026,” SWS said.

The June score was also eight points higher than the 2025 annual Net Gainers score of -8.

Metro Manila posted the lowest Net Gainers score at -13, classified as “mediocre,” followed by the Visayas at -1.

Mindanao recorded a score of +3, while Balance Luzon, or areas outside Metro Manila, posted +4. Both were classified as “high.”

SWS said the 26-point improvement in the nationwide score from March to June was driven by increases across all geographic areas.

The survey involved 1,200 adults interviewed face to face nationwide.

Malacañang declined to comment, saying it had yet to see the survey results.

‘Do you feel it?’

The survey was conducted a month before the government announced in July that the Philippines had officially attained upper-middle-income country status after gross national income per capita reached $4,850, above the World Bank threshold of $4,636.

Makati Business Club Chairman Edgar Chua said economic classifications mattered less if ordinary Filipinos did not feel improvements in their daily lives.

“Because even if they say, hey, we are rich in terms of GDP per capita. But remember, GDP per capita is an average. If the 10 percent is rich, still, 90 percent is still grappling. So, we have a serious problem, and that’s not sustainable,” Chua said in a roundtable interview Thursday.

“Our debt is now P19 trillion. We need to build a stronger middle-income class. And then those who are in the bottom, we have to lift them,” he added.

Chua also said the standard of living of the middle class was declining while households continued to face tax burdens.