Pulse Asia: 66% of Filipinos Worry About High Prices

Adryan R. Villanueva, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

by Pulse Asia

Most Filipino adults (66%) are concerned about the soaring prices of basic commodities; public concern regarding this matter becomes more pronounced between June 2022 and September 2022 (+9 percentage points)

Amidst the continuing increase in the prices of basic goods, two-thirds of the country’s adult population (66%) consider the need to control inflation as the national issue that requires the immediate attention of the incumbent administration. This is the prevailing view in all geographic areas and socio-economic classes (56% to 81% and 51% to 71%, respectively). Almost half of Filipino adults cite increasing workers’ pay as an urgent national concern (44%) while around a third of them are concerned about job creation and poverty reduction (35% and 34%, respectively). Nearly a quarter of Filipino adults (22%) say the present dispensation should immediately take steps to combat corruption in government. (Please refer to Tables 1 to 2.)

Table 1
MOST URGENT NATIONAL CONCERNS

September 17 - 21, 2022 / Philippines
(In Percent / Multiple Response, up to 3 allowed)

Table 2
MOST URGENT NATIONAL CONCERNS: OVERALL

September 17 - 21, 2022 / Philippines
(In Percent / Multiple Response, up to 3 allowed)

Criminality and involuntary hunger are issues that concern about a fifth of the adult population (19% and 17%, respectively) while enforcing the rule of law in the country is mentioned by a little over a tenth (12%). On the other hand, fewer Filipino adults express concern about the following issues: helping small entrepreneurs (9%), protecting the environment (9%), promoting peace (8%), reducing the amount of taxes paid by citizens (7%), controlling the spread of COVID-19 (5%), defending national territorial integrity (5%), protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (4%), and preparing to deal with terroristic threats (2%). (Please refer to Table 1.)

Controlling inflation is the leading first-ranked urgent national concern (35%). The top second-ranked concerns are inflation (18%), workers pay (17%), and employment (14%). As regards third-ranked concerns, the most often mentioned ones are inflation (13%), jobs (13%), poverty (13%), workers’ pay (12%), corruption (8%), and involuntary hunger (8%).

In addition to inflation, the only other issue deemed urgent by majorities in any of the geographic and socio-economic subgroupings is increasing the pay of workers, an urgent concern mentioned by 55% in Class ABC and 54% in Class E. On the other hand, the least often mentioned urgent national concerns across areas and classes are taxes (7% to 8% and 4% to 8%, respectively), COVID-19 (2% to 8% and 4% to 6%, respectively), national territorial integrity (1% to 7% and 2% to 5%, respectively), welfare of overseas Filipino workers (1% to 6% and 4% to 6%, respectively), and terrorism (virtually nil to 3% and 1% to 3%, respectively). (Please refer to Table 2.)

There are few changes in public opinion regarding urgent national concerns during the period June 2022 to September 2022. The level of concern about controlling inflation – the only national issue considered urgent by most adults (66%) – increases (+9 percentage points) while concern about creating more jobs also becomes more pronounced (+6 percentage points). In contrast, public concern regarding peace promotion in the country eases during the same period (-6 percentage points). (Please refer to Table 3.)

Table 3
MOST URGENT NATIONAL CONCERNS

June 2022 and September 2022 / Philippines
(In Percent / Multiple Response, up to 3 allowed)

The current national administration registers majority approval ratings on 11 of the 13 issues on which its performance is assessed in September 2022

Appreciation is the majority sentiment toward the present administration’s work in the areas of responding to the needs of calamity-hit areas (78%), controlling the spread of COVID-19 (78%), promoting peace in the country (69%), protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (68%), fighting criminality (67%), enforcing the rule of law (62%), creating more jobs (59%), increasing workers’ pay (59%), fighting graft and corruption in government (58%), protecting the environment (57%), and defending the country’s territorial integrity (52%). (Please refer to Table 4.)

However, when it comes to controlling inflation, the only majority urgent national concern, the plurality opinion among Filipino adults (42%) is one of disapproval for the national administration’s performance. And on the issue of poverty reduction, the latter records essentially the same approval and indecision figures (39% versus 35%).

Table 4
PERCEIVED URGENCY OF SELECTED NATIONAL ISSUES AND
THE NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION'S PERFORMANCE RATINGS

September 17 - 21, 2022 / Philippines
(Row Percent)