Filipinos becoming more concerned about inflation—Pulse Asia

Pulse Asia noted that inflation was the only issue mentioned by majorities in each geographic and socioeconomic subgrouping. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/FileMANILA — Filipinos are becoming more concerned about the rising prices of goods and services, a September survey by Pulse Asia released Thursday suggested.

Most adult Filipinos or 71 percent of 2,400 polled by Pulse Asia from Sept. 17 to 24 said that the Marcos administration should immediately address inflation, which accelerated to 7.2 percent in September propelled by the soaring cost of food and transportation.

The opinion pollster noted that inflation was the only issue mentioned by majorities in each geographic and socioeconomic subgrouping.

“During the period September 2025 to September 2026, Filipinos become more concerned about the
need to control the spiraling prices of basic commodities (+17 percentage points),” it said, adding that 81 percent of Filipinos disapprove of the administration’s handling of inflation.

A separate survey by Social Weather Stations showed that the proportion of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger rose to 22.6 percent in September.

The figure exceeded levels recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, SWS noted.

While inflation is a top concern of Filipinos, a distant second are fighting graft and corruption in government (39 percent) and increasing workers’ pay (36 percent), the Pulse Asia poll said.

The other sets of concerns are the following.

• Fighting criminality (24 percent) and reducing poverty (21 percent) 
• Creating more jobs (18 percent), fighting the sale and use of illegal drugs (18 percent), and reducing the price of gasoline amid the current energy crisis (14 percent)
• Helping farmers (9 percent), promoting peace (9 percent), addressing the problem of involuntary hunger (8 percent), enforcing the rule of law (7 percent), reducing taxes (6 percent), responding to the needs of disaster-affected areas (6 percent), protecting the environment (5 percent), and providing assistance to small entrepreneurs (5 percent)
• Defending national territorial integrity (2 percent), protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (1 percent), and preparing to face terrorist threats (1 percent)

Meanwhile, a small majority of Filipino adults (52 percent) are appreciative of the present efforts to protect the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, an issue considered as urgent by only one percent of the adult population, according to Pulse Asia.

“In contrast, the prevailing sentiment toward the latter’s handling of these six (6)
issues is one of disapproval — controlling inflation (81 percent), fighting the sale and use of illegal drugs (71 percent), fighting corruption (70 percent), reducing poverty (67 percent), lowering the price of gasoline (65 percent), and fighting criminality (57 percent),” it said.

The survey has a ± 2 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.