The Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported on Thursday, April 23, that 50 percent of Filipinos felt their quality of life worsened compared to a year ago.
Based on the survey conducted from March 24 to 31, the SWS found that 26 percent said their quality of life remained unchanged, and only 23 percent said that it had improved when compared to twelve months ago.
The SWS said this amounts to a Net Gainers score of -26, which is calculated by subtracting the percentage of “gainers,” or those who have indicated improvement in their quality of life, from the “losers,” or survey participants who said the quality of their lives declined.
“This is 19 points down from the fair -7 in November 2025, following a decline from the very high +12 in June 2025 and fair -2 in September 2025,” the social research institution said in a statement.
The survey was based on face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide, with 300 participants each from Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao, and 600 in other parts of Luzon.
With the country in the middle of an oil crisis, public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers have staged transport strikes and protests, demanding that the Oil Deregulation Law be repealed and the excise taxes on gasoline and diesel be lifted, as had been done with kerosene and liquified petroleum gas (LPG).
Moreover, according to a previous report, there was a point when only half the number of municipal-level fisherfolk in Cavite were able to engage in fishing activities due to the soaring price of diesel, which fuels their motorbancas.
Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) said on April 9 that only 3,000 out of the total 5,000 registered fisherfolk in Rosario, Cavite, were able to regularly head out to sea, as reported by RH 15 Jecelle Ricafort.
Farmers were also affected by the crisis, particularly those in the mountain provinces and onion farmers, Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told DZRH in an interview on Tuesday last week. They were concerned about the price increase on fertilizers, which are commonly imported, and freight costs.
