Pulse Asia poll: Food prices still top concern
Affordable food prices remained the leading concern that Filipinos want the national government to address, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the Stratbase group.
The survey, conducted Sept. 17 to Sept. 23, found that 35 percent of Filipinos said national government leaders should prioritize making food more affordable, particularly rice, meat and fish.
This was a 5-percentage-point increase from 30 percent in a similar survey in July, but remained below the 41 percent recorded in March.
Concern over food affordability increased across all locations and classes compared with the July survey.
It was the highest among respondents from the poorest socioeconomic group, with 55 percent of Class E respondents identifying it as their top priority, up by 11 percentage points from 44 percent in July.
The figure also increased by four percentage points among Class D respondents, from 30 percent to 34 percent; and by seven percentage points among Class ABC respondents, from 19 percent to 26 percent.
Top issue in Mindanao
By location, it rose by eight percentage points in Mindanao, from 26 percent to 34 percent; seven percentage points in Metro Manila, from 36 percent to 43 percent, six percentage points in Luzon outside of Metro Manila, from 30 percent to 36 percent; and three percentage points in Visayas, from 28 percent to 31 percent.
The latest findings on food prices also align with the results of another Pulse Asia question which found that 71 percent of Filipinos wanted the Marcos administration to control inflation, which accelerated to 7.2 percent in September due to rising food and transport prices.
Given these results, Stratbase Group CEO and Prof. Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit urged the government to address the cost of basic goods as its most urgent priority if it wished to regain credibility and public trust.
“The public has been consistently telling [the] government what matters most to them: the rising cost of basic goods and the ability to make ends meet. If the administration wants to rebuild public trust, it has to address these everyday concerns and deliver results that Filipinos can actually feel in their homes and communities,” Manhit said.
“The fact that food affordability is the top concern, particularly among the poorest Filipinos, should be a strong signal for [the] government. Economic policies must translate into real relief for families who are struggling with the cost of basic necessities,” he added.
Livelihood, corruption
The September survey also showed a notable shift in the public’s concerns about jobs and corruption.
About 26 percent of respondents called for more jobs and livelihood opportunities, a two-percentage-point decrease from 28 percent in July. Meanwhile, the share of respondents who wanted the government to reduce or eliminate corruption fell by four percentage points, from 28 percent to 24 percent.
Manhit said the results also pointed to the need for the government to translate efforts on governance and economic management into improvements that Filipinos can directly feel.
Meanwhile, those who identified accessible education and healthcare services as the primary action government leaders should take increased by one percentage point, from 14 percent in July to 15 percent in September.
The survey was conducted nationwide among 2,400 respondents, with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percent.
Respondents were asked to choose only one action they believed national government leaders should primarily undertake to address concerns in their local communities.
