IF SURVEYS ARE any indication, more Filipinos should brace for an escalated hardship amid rising numbers corresponding unemployment, inflation, corruption and volatile political landscape.
In a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) covering the last week of March, personal optimism significantly dropped, with the 16 percent of adult Filipino respondents expecting their quality of life to worsen in the next 12 months rising to 16 percent, which is double than figures in a 2025 survey.
While the survey had 38 percent of Filipino adults hoping quality of life to improve in the next 12 months, the rest are compelled to adapt to poverty.
Interetingly, SWS classified the net personal optimism score as “high,” although it went down from the previous “very high” rating in November 2025.
As this developed, Senator Bong Go urged the administration for a sustained compassion, especially for families facing emergencies, loss of livelihood, rising costs, and other daily hardships.
“Panahon po ito para tulungan natin ang isa’t isa. Kung sino po ang may kakayahan, kahit maliit lang ang maibahagi, malaking bagay na po ‘yan para sa ating kapwa,” Go said in a statement.
The senator, who has been hopping from one place to another to personally handover assistance to communities in distress, called on fellow government officials to divert salaries to help.
By his own admission, Go said that the assistance he’s been providing is drawn from his own salary, even as he claimed that the Senate does not have a budget specifically allocated for personal assistance to communities in need.
“Sweldo ko po ang gamit ko rito. Wala po kaming budget sa Senado na pantulong sa ganitong paraan, kaya kusang-loob ko po itong ibinibigay sa inyo,” he averred.
The SWS survey was conducted face-to-face among 1,500 adults nationwide, with 300 respondents each from Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao, and 600 from Balance Luzon.
The sampling error margins were plus or minus three percent for national percentages, plus or minus six percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao, and or minus four percent for Balance Luzon.
The latest personal optimism results also came after an earlier SWS survey showing that 50 percent of Filipino adults believed their lives had worsened in the past 12 months, while 26 percent said their situation stayed the same.
Go said survey figures should remind public servants and private citizens alike that many Filipinos continue to struggle with daily expenses and crises.
“Marami pa rin pong kababayan natin ang nahihirapan. Kaya dapat patuloy tayong maging malasakit sa kapwa, lalo na sa mga nawalan, nasunugan, nagkasakit, o walang ibang malapitan,” he added.
The senator maintained that public service should remain grounded in direct assistance to ordinary Filipinos, particularly those affected by disasters and other difficult circumstances.
“Kung may pagkakataon po tayong makatulong, gawin na po natin. Minsan lang tayo dadaan sa mundong ito. Kung ano pong kabutihan ang kaya nating gawin para sa kapwa, gawin na po natin ngayon,” Go quipped.