Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The improved life voiced by more Filipinos despite the COVID-19 pandemic is an indication that the Duterte administration's mitigation and response against the virus are "working," Malacañang said Friday.

"We view this improvement as incontrovertible proof that the current government’s pandemic response is working, where we put premium on both health and the economy," Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said, as he welcomed the results of latest Social Weather Station's (SWS) April 19 to 27 poll, which showed that 32 percent of adult Filipinos believed their life got better in the past 12 months.

The latest figure was higher than the 24 percent registered in December 2021.

Andanar said the life improvement shows that the country is now heading toward "full" economic recovery.

"It is likewise a reaffirmation that we are now on our way to full economic recovery while maintaining our vigilance with the new COVID-19 variants," he said.

A total of 265 areas in the country, including Metro Manila cities and Pateros, have been placed under the most lenient Alert Level 1 from June 16 to 30 to boost more economic activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the latest SWS survey, around 34 percent of Filipinos said their quality of life was worse while the other 34 percent were convinced it was unchanged.

The poll results yielded a "fair" -2 Net Gainers score, 14 points up from the "mediocre" -16 recorded in December 2021.

The 14-point improvement in the national Net Gainers rating was due to increases in Metro Manila (from "mediocre" -11 to "high" +4), Balance Luzon (from "mediocre" -11 to "high" +1), the Visayas (from "very low" -31 to "mediocre" -12), and Mindanao (from "mediocre" -15 to "fair" -4).

Net gainers also eased from "mediocre" -19 to "fair" -9 among non-elementary graduates; "mediocre" -17 to "high" +3 among junior high school graduates; and "fair" -7 to "very high" +14 among college graduates.

It likewise rose among self-rated poor (from "low" -25 to "mediocre" -10) and non-poor (from "mediocre" -11 to "very high" +11).

It stayed "mediocre" among elementary graduates (from -17 to -13) and "fair" among borderline poor (from -8 to -1).

"The Net Gainer score was generally negative until 2015 when it rose to positive numbers until the drastic deterioration beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It has since trended back upwards but still has not reached the positive range," the SWS noted.

SWS interviewed 1,440 adult Filipinos, using sampling error margins of ±2.6 percentage points for national percentages and ±5.2 percentage points for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. (PIA-NCR)