OPTIMISM DECLINES: 4 IN 10 FILIPINOS EXPECT BETTER LIFE

A survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that the number of Filipinos who expect their lives to improve have dropped at 38 percent (4 in 10 people), the lowest since the pandemic.

Results of the survey revealed that 32 percent expected their lives to remain the same, 16 percent believe their living conditions will worsen, and 14 percent were undecided.

It was the lowest since September 2021, where a similar survey showed that 33 percent were "optimists" about their quality of life.

The number of pessimists also increased—with the last double-digit record being in September 2020 at 30 percent.

These figures translate to a net personal optimism score of +23 which SMS classifies as "high," down 13 points from +36 in November 2025.

"Net personal optimism" is the rounded off difference between the number of respondents that expect their lives to improve and respondents that expect their lives to worsen.

Luzon areas aside from the National Capital Region in particular experienced one of the steepest drops in net personal optimism, from +40 in November 2025 to +22 in March 2026.

Metro Manila went from +36 to +28, Mindanao dropped from +35 to +20 and the Visayas region only decreased slightly from +29 to +27.

SWS surveyed 1,500 respondents aged 18 and above, with a margin of error of ±3 percent.