MANILA, Philippines — The Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that 90% or almost all adult Filipinos will be entering 2025 “with hope rather than fear.”
But that figure is a 6-percentage-point drop from the 96% of respondents who said the prior year that they will be entering the New Year with hope. According to the SWS, the 90% in this year’s survey is the lowest since the 89% logged in 2009.
According to the same survey, conducted from December 12 to 18, the remaining 10% of Filipino adults will enter 2025 with fear — a 7-percentage-point increase from the 3% in 2023. The SWS notes it is the highest since 11% in 2009.
The exact question asked of respondents was: “Ang darating na taon ba ay inyong sasalubungin nang may pag-asa o may pangamba?” (Will you enter the coming year with hope or with fear?)
The most recent iterations of the survey, from 2010 to 2024, saw at least 90% of respondents saying they will be entering the New Year with hope.
Happy Christmas, hope in the New Year
The same SWS survey showed that 65% of adult Filipinos expected a happy Christmas — a figure much lower than those seeing hope for the coming year.
“Hope for the coming New Year has always been higher among those who expected a happy Christmas than those who expected a sad Christmas,” added the SWS in a media release.
Across the Philippines, hope for the New Year fell — from 97% to 91% in Metro Manila, 97% to 92% in Balance Luzon, 93% to 87% in the Visayas, and 96% to 89% in Mindanao.
According to the SWS, hope also fell across educational levels as well, although hope was higher for those with higher levels of education.
The survey items on hope were non-commissioned and were done by the SWS as a public service, the polling firm said. – Rappler.com