SWS: Half of Filipinos say life worsened in the past 12 months

Half of Filipinos say their life worsened in the past 12 months. 

According to Social Weather Stations' First Quarter 2026 survey released on Apr. 23, 50% of adult Filipinos said their quality-of-life got worse over the span of time, 26% said it remains unchanged, while 23% said life improved.

This March 2026 data resulted to a net score of -26, classified by the research company as the lowest in four years. The lowest recorded was -44 in September 2021.

The net score slid bigtime from 19 points from November 2025 fair -7, and was a very stark contrast from +12 in June 2025 and fair -2 in September 2025.

The net score dipped lowest both in Mindanao and Metro Manila, at a very low -31, followed by the Visayas at low -25, and Balance Luzon at low -23.

The survey was conducted from March 24 to 31 among 1,500 adults, a period marked with inflation and rising costs for fuel and goods as an effect of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The 12-month quality of life assessment survey question has been asked by SWS since April 1983. Result were generally positive until 2025 before sharply declining since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, albeit with recovering with mixed results.