Palace: SWS poll shows Pinoy ‘bayanihan’ spirit alive

MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday lauded the results of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) which revealed that majority of Filipinos are ready to help the victims of the Marawi conflict.

According to the results of the Third Quarter SWS survey released Tuesday, 60 percent of respondents said they were ready to help those affected by the Marawi crisis.

“That’s an affirmation of the ‘bayanihan’ spirit of the Filipino people. 60 percent, that is an overwhelming majority,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said during a Palace briefing.

“We thank the people for the support they have shown to the victims of Marawi atrocities,” he added.

Conducted from September 23 to 27, respondents were asked: “How ready are you to help the victims of the Marawi City crisis?”

The results showed that 27 percent of respondents said “very ready,” 33 percent said “somewhat ready,” 20 percent said they were undecided, 11 percent said “somewhat unready,” and 9 percent said “very unready.”

In terms of geographical location, readiness to help victims in Marawi City was highest in Mindanao with 70 percent, followed by Metro Manila with 68 percent, the Visayas region with 57 percent, and the rest of Luzon with 54 percent.

By class, 66 percent of class ABC said they were prepared to help, followed by 61 percent among the class D, and 53 percent among the class E.

By gender, 61 percent of women said they were ready to help, while only 59 percent of men answered the same.

In terms of what kind of help they were willing to provide for victims of the Marawi crisis, the answers were broken down as: prayers (54 percent), relief goods (51 percent), clothes (49 percent), money (16 percent), work in packing or delivering goods (13 percent), offer free housing (4 percent), give free transportation (2 percent), and give free medicine (0.1 percent).

The five-month long Marawi crisis which started on May 23 and declared officially ended on October 23 resulted in the death of more than 1,000 persons, mostly terrorists, and displaced more than 360,000 people. (PNA)