Sixty-one percent of families in Mindanao consider themselves food-poor, according to a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted from September 24-30, 2025. The results, released on October 31, revealed that Self-Rated Poverty remained highest in Mindanao at 69%, followed by the Visayas at 54%, Metro Manila at 43%, and Balance Luzon at 42%.
Compared to June 2025, Self-Rated Poverty rose by 7 points in Metro Manila and 4 points in Balance Luzon but fell by 6 points in the Visayas, while remaining unchanged in Mindanao. Borderline families increased sharply in the Visayas (12% to 24%) but saw little change elsewhere. Meanwhile, the percentage of Not Poor families declined in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Balance Luzon but stayed nearly the same in Mindanao.
Self-Rated Food Poverty was also highest in Mindanao at 61%, up by 1% from June. The Visayas followed at 40%, Metro Manila at 35%, and Balance Luzon at 33%. Nationwide, 41% of families rated themselves as Food-Poor, 11% as Food Borderline, and 47% as Not Food-Poor. The estimated number of Food-Poor families was 11.5 million.
The survey also categorized poor families based on past poverty experiences: 5.7% were “Newly Poor” (non-poor 1-4 years ago), 8.7% were “Usually Poor” (non-poor five or more years ago), and 36% were “Always Poor” (never non-poor). Of the 14.2 million Self-Rated Poor families, 1.6 million were Newly Poor, 2.4 million Usually Poor, and 10.1 million Always Poor.
Conversely, among Self-Rated Non-Poor families, 13.3% were “Newly Non-Poor” (poor 1-4 years ago), 21.1% were “Usually Non-Poor” (poor five or more years ago), and 15.1% were “Always Non-Poor” (never poor). Of the 13.9 million Non-Poor families, 3.7 million were Newly Non-Poor, 5.9 million Usually Non-Poor, and 4.2 million Always Non-Poor.
The survey involved face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide, with sampling error margins of ±3% nationally, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
