Latest survey on optimism affirms President Aquino’s final State of Nation Address, says Palace

AUGUST 5 (PCOO) — A Malacañang official on Tuesday said the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on personal optimism have affirmed the report of President Benigno S. Aquino III during his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week.

The second-quarter SWS survey, conducted on June 5 to 8 and released on August 2, showed that more Filipinos are hopeful of a better quality of life and the general economy in the next 12 months.

“The results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey on personal optimism and optimism about the economy affirm President Aquino’s report to his Bosses during his final SONA that, indeed, the Filipinos have acquired a highly positive mindset during the past five years. We are gratified to note the ‘very high’ net personal optimism and ‘very high’ net optimism about the economy ratings,” Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said in a statement.

“Most significantly, net optimism about the economy rose to ‘very high’ in classes E and D, thereby validating the effectiveness of the administration’s targeted and purposive poverty reduction and social safety net programs. For these reasons, the President has consistently emphasized the importance of continuing these programs so that our Bosses’ optimism will be brought to full fruition,” the statement further said.

The SWS survey showed “a significant improvement in personal optimism among respondents in the E socioeconomic class offset a dip among those in the ABC segment; net optimism about the economy in the year ahead improved across classes; and net optimism about the economy was halved in Metro Manila, but this deterioration was offset by significant improvements in Luzon areas outside the capital and in Mindanao”.

The survey also found 42 percent of respondents (flat from March, the same level as in June 1997 and the highest since September 1992’s 44 percent) expected their quality of life to improve in the next 12 months (“optimists”) and 6 percent (up from 5 percent in March) expected it to get worse (“pessimists”), yielding a net personal optimism score of +36 (the difference of “optimists” over “pessimists”), classified by the SWS as “very high” that was steady from March’s “very high” net +37. PND (jm)