Filipinos remain upbeat on PH economic prospects–SWS survey

Eight out of every 10 Filipinos are optimistic that the Philippines can join the ranks of “developed” countries, based on a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey commissioned by global insurance giant Sun Life of Canada.

Based on the same survey, a “developed” country is mostly associated by respondents to the following indicators: accessibility of affordable good education (41 percent); developed economy (40 percent) and accessibility of job opportunities (36 percent).

In a briefing on the result of the survey Wednesday, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. chief marketing officer Mylene Lopa said the survey covered 1,200 respondents aged above 18 representing different economic classes.

Three out of 10 Filipinos responded “yes” when asked if they thought that the Philippines was already a “developed” country. Seven of 10 opined that the country had yet to reach this status but five of whom believed that the country could attain this in the foreseeable future.

Three out of 10 respondents are optimistic that the “developed” nation status could be achieved in 10 years while one out of 10 said it would be possible in five years. One of 10 also said this could be achieved in three years.

Pessimism is evident in two out of 10 Filipinos. These are the people who said the Philippines would never be a developed country.

“Filipinos are really very optimistic. The survey defines what’s financial freedom and I guess financial freedom means different things to different people and there’s strong optimism that they can actually achieve financial freedom,” Sun Life Philippines president Riza Mantaring said.

Mantaring, however, noted that financial literacy was still a big concern. “The problem is a lot of people don’t know how to get there,” she said.

About 74 percent of the respondents expected the country’s economic development to have a positive impact on them and their families while the remaining 26 percent were not as optimistic.

When asked what they were doing to improve their own financial situation, the top answers were as follow: saving money (54 percent); growing their business (19 percent) and not doing anything (18 percent).

Mantaring noted that only 8 percent of respondents said they were investing. “There’s that desire to get there but there’s the lack of knowledge,” she said, noting this must be the reason behind those people who replied that they were not doing anything about their situation.

“Filipinos are generally optimistic to begin with but translation to reality is what we’re trying to bridge,” Lopa said, citing the rationale for the company’s financial literacy campaign which has been running for several years.

“The country’s economic progress has been all over the news lately and Sun Life wanted to know the Filipinos’ sentiments regarding this. It would be great if the country’s economic progress can be enjoyed by all and not just a few.”