ABOUT 32% of adult Filipinos said their quality of life deteriorated in the third quarter, while 30% said theirs improved, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Tuesday.
The survey, conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 respondents from Sept. 24-30, also found that nearly four in ten (38%) said their quality of life was unchanged.
The results, classified by SWS as “fair,” reversed the double-digit gains seen earlier in the year. The Q3 poll has a ±3 percentage-point margin of error for national estimates.
The results showed Filipino households grew more pessimistic about their quality of life during the quarter, with sentiment sliding to its weakest level in two years as more families reported worsening living conditions.
The Net Gainers score — the difference between the share of Filipinos who said their lives improved versus those who said they worsened over the past year — dropped to -2 in September from +12 in June.
The 14-point decline pulled the index to its lowest reading since September 2023, according to SWS data.
The rise in pessimism in the country comes as its government uncovers a wide-scale graft issue concerning public works officials, lawmakers and contractors.
“The Net Gainers score was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers, only to decline sharply with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns,” SWS said in a statement, noting it recovered to pre-pandemic levels in June 2023 and from June 2024 to December 2024.
Net Gainers fell to single-digit levels from January 2025 to April 2025 before bouncing to double-digit levels in June 2025.
The downturn was broad-based, with household optimism falling across all major regions, income classes, age groups, and genders.
Mindanao posted the highest Net Gainers score at +3, but this still marked a steep 13-point drop from June.
The Visayas slid by 21 points to +1, while Metro Manila fell 18 points to -8. Balance Luzon dipped to -4 from +6.
Urban sentiment weakened considerably, with Net Gainers falling to -5 from +10, while rural areas saw a milder decline to +1 from +14.
Younger Filipinos remained the most optimistic: Those aged 18-24 posted an “excellent” grade of +23, though down from +39 in June.
Sentiment deteriorated sharply among older respondents, with those 55 and above plunging to -18, a 22-point drop from +4.
Quality-of-life perception also worsened most notably among elementary graduates, whose Net Gainers score tumbled 24 points to -12. College graduates posted a positive score of +5, down from +13.
Half of Filipino families identified themselves as poor, based on SWS’ separate Self-Rated Poverty survey.
As in previous surveys, Net Gainers was lowest among the poor at -13, compared with +10 among the borderline and +9 among the not-poor.
Poor families saw the sharpest drop — a 21-point fall from June. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana