(Eagle News) — More than four million Filipinos were assisted by the government in the last quarter of 2016.
The Social Weather Stations survey first published in BusinessWorld on Friday said the 4.8 million Filipinos translate to 46 percent of the population.
The survey results were derived from face-to-face interviews with 1500 adults–600 from Balance Luzon, and 300 each from Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.
The sampling error margins are pegged at ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
“Examining the sources of help, the December 2016 survey found that the Government was the top source of help among households that were given Support for schooling or training (87%), Any kind of service (55%) and Food (51%),” the non-commissioned survey said.
Apart from the government, other sources of assistance were relatives (about 4.3 million FIlipinos); friends (about 1.7 million); private persons (about 856,000); private companies (about 543,000); and nongovernment organizations (about 250,000).
Based on the survey, the most common form of assistance was money, at 51%.
This was followed by food, at 38%; money loans, at 24%; support for schooling or training, at 8%; non-food items, at 4%; jobs, at 4%; and any kind of service, at 1%.