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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Filipino sadness rating matches all-time high

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Filipinos are known throughout the world for a happy outlook, enabling them to cope with an assortment of miseries, from multiple disasters in the same year to the constant threat of crime to sordid governance by their leaders.

But this year was worse than others, and the latest happiness index reflects it.

According to the Social Weather Stations' (SWS) most recent survey, 10 percent of Filipinos are sad this Christmas season, "which matches the all-time high sadness level... posted in 2004," said the pollster. The Christmas expectations poll began in 2002.

2009 saw a series of tragedies, including epic floods in Metro Manila and around Luzon, and one of modern history's most horrific crimes, the Ampatuan Massacre. As scandals continued to hound the Arroyo administration, fueling pessimism about the country's political future, the nation also lost its beloved icon of democracy, Corazon Aquino.

Despite the setbacks this year, and the record-tying sadness rating, three out of five Filipinos still expected a happy Christmas, the SWS said last Thursday.

The survey, conducted December 5 to 10, said 64 percent of adult Filipinos expected a happy Christmas this year while 10 percent expected it to be sad.

Twenty-six percent, meanwhile, said their Christmas will neither be happy nor sad, the SWS said.

As expected, Malacañang gave the survey results a positive spin, saying Filipinos have many reasons to look forward to next year.

"It has been a difficult year but we look forward with hope," said deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs Gary Olivar in an interview on dwIZ radio.

Olivar said the global economy is recovering from last year’s meltdown, while the country will have its first automated polls in 2010.

“Nakatutulong kapag positibo ang pananaw natin... Kung negatibo ang pananaw, masama ang mangyayari, kung positibo, maganda (It will help if we maintain a positive outlook. If we have a negative outlook, bad things are likely to happen. If we have a positive outlook, we can expect good things)," he said.

While the survey results showed majority of Filipinos expected this Christmas to be happy, the happiness rating was much lower than the one in 2002, and the sad expectation was the highest since 2004.

Lower happiness

The SWS noted this year’s 64-percent happiness rating was considerably lower than the high 82 percent in 2002, when SWS first surveyed expectations about Christmas-to-come.

Happy expectations for Christmas dropped slightly to 77 percent in 2003, and fell to the 60s starting 2004 - 64 percent in 2004, 62 percent in both 2005 and 2006, 64 percent in 2007, and 63 percent in 2008.

On the other hand, the 10 percent who are expecting a sad Christmas in 2009 is slightly higher than the 7-8 percent reported from 2005 to 2008, the SWS said.

In 2002 and 2003, only 3 percent reported having a sad Christmas.

Happy expectation lower in NCR

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 are 50 percent in Metro Manila, lower than the 62 percent in the rest of Luzon, 68 percent in Visayas and 71 percent in Mindanao.

In Metro Manila, the 50 percent expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 was five points down from 55 percent in both 2007 and 2008.

“By the same margin, those expecting a sad Christmas increased from 11 percent in the previous year to 16 percent," SWS said, adding that happiness with Christmas has been lower among Metro Manila respondents than in other three areas since 2003.

In 2002, 77 percent of Metro Manila respondents anticipated a happy Christmas, but slumped to 65 percent in 2003 and 48 percent in 2004. It rebounded to 55 percent in 2005 but fell again at its lowest 45 percent in 2006.

In Balance Luzon, those expecting a happy Christmas slightly increased from 59 percent in 2008 to 62 percent in 2009. Eight percent expect a sad Christmas this year, unchanged since 2006.

In Visayas and Mindanao, while the percentages of those anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas were similar to those who expected a happy 2008 Christmas, those expecting a sad Christmas slightly increased in 2009.

In Visayas, those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 barely changed From 70 percent in 2008 to 68 percent this year. Those who expect a sad Christmas this year is 11 percent, up by three points from 8 percent in the previous year.

In Mindanao, the 71 percent who are anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas is similar to the 70 percent posted in 2008. Those who expect a sad Christmas this year is 9 percent, up four points from 5 percent in 2008.

Happiness with Christmas same across classes

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 are about the same across all socio-economic classes: 66 percent among upper to middle classes ABC, 63 percent among masa class D and 64 percent among the very poor class E.

Among classes ABC, those expecting a happy Christmas declined from 71 percent in 2008 to 66 percent in 2009.

Compared with 2008, the percentages of those who expect a happy Christmas in 2009 barely changed among class D, from 61 percent to 63 percent, and class E, from 65 percent to 64 percent.

Among class E, those expecting a sad Christmas doubled from 6 percent in the previous year to 12 percent in 2009.

Those expecting a sad Christmas in 2009 barely changed among classes ABC, from 5 percent to 6 percent, and class D, from 8 percent to 10 percent.

Muslims neutral on happiness with Christmas

Most of the Muslim respondents were neutral on their expectations with Christmas, with 50 percent expecting their Christmas this year to be neither happy nor sad, 23 percent see it to be sad, and 25 percent anticipate a happy one.

Among the Roman Catholics, 65 percent expect a happy Christmas, slightly lower than the 68 percent among Other Christians who are also expecting a happy Christmas in 2009.

Happiness slightly higher among the youth

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 were 68 percent among the youth [18-24] and 66 percent among the intermediate youth [25-34], slightly higher than the 63 percent among those aged 35-44, 60 percent among the 45-54, and 62 percent among those aged 55 and above.

The Fourth Quarter of 2009 Social Weather Survey was conducted from December 5 to 10, using face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adults divided into random samples of 300 in Metro Manila and 600 each in Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Sampling error margins of ±2.2 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent for Metro Manila and ±4 percent for Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, applied to the survey.

- with Johanna Camille Sisante/LBG/RSJ/HGS, GMANews.TV

Labels: happiness rating, philippine news online, sadness level, sadness rating, Social Weather Station