From the recent survey of Social Weather Stations (SWS), Filipino families now need at least P12,000 monthly to make ends meet, with those in Metro Manila placing even higher at P20,000.
The Self-Rated Poverty Threshold, or the minimum monthly budget that families say they need for home expenses not to consider themselves poor, progressed for the first time from P10,000 last year to P12,000 this year.
They said the rise is due to the continuous rise in food, transport, and utility costs.
Despite the turning, SWS noted that poverty thresholds have remained stagnant over time, suggesting that families have been lowering their expenses or tightening their belts just to cope with the economic strain.
The nationwide survey conducted from June 25 to 29, also found out that 49% of Filipino families consider themselves poor, slightly lower than the 50% recorded in April, but still equivalent to around 13.7 million households.
