More than a third of Filipinos want the national government to focus on lowering food prices as inflation accelerated to a three-year high in September, according to a new Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group.
The survey, released on Friday and covering 2,400 respondents nationwide from Sept. 17 to 23, showed that 35% of Filipinos said the Philippine government should prioritize making food, particularly rice, meat and fish, more affordable. The figure was five percentage points higher than the 30% recorded in July but remained below the 41% recorded in March.
The latest finding was also consistent with the survey’s other results, which showed that 71% of Filipinos wanted the Marcos administration to control inflation, which accelerated to its fastest pace in more than three years, reaching 7.2% in September.
Apart from lowering food prices, about 26% urged the government to create more jobs and livelihood opportunities, while 24% wanted corruption eradicated to improve the delivery of public services. Meanwhile, 15% called for more accessible education and health-care services.
Based on the latest findings, Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit, chief executive officer of the Stratbase Group, said the government should prioritize addressing the rising prices of basic goods if it wants to regain credibility and public trust.
He cited the results of another Stratbase-commissioned Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from Sept. 21 to 27, which found that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s trust rating inched up to 36% from 34% in June. Meanwhile, Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s trust rating remained relatively steady at 56%, compared with 57% in June.
“The public has been consistently telling the government what matters most to them: the rising cost of basic goods and the ability to make ends meet,” Mr. Manhit said in a statement.
“If the administration wants to rebuild public trust, it has to address these everyday concerns and deliver results that Filipinos can actually feel in their homes and communities,” he added.
Concerns over food prices were most pronounced among Class E respondents, the poorest socioeconomic group, with 55% identifying affordable food as their top concern, up 11 percentage points from July, the report said.
This compared with 34% among Class D respondents and 26% among those in Class ABC.
By region, concern over food prices was highest in the National Capital Region at 43%, followed by Luzon at 36%, Mindanao at 34% and the Visayas at 31%.
Concerns over jobs and livelihood opportunities fell to 26% from 28% in July, while calls for the government to reduce or eliminate corruption declined to 24% from 28% in July and 31% in December 2025.
Despite the decline, corruption remained the third most cited concern nationwide, with 30% of respondents in the Visayas and 27% in the National Capital Region identifying it as a key issue.
Meanwhile, only 15% of respondents identified improving access to education and health-care services as a government priority, up one percentage point from July.
Mr. Manhit said the results underscored the need for the government to ensure that efforts to address corruption, create jobs and improve public services translate into lower costs, higher incomes and more secure livelihoods for Filipino families.
The latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group has a margin of error of +/-2%. — Edg Adrian A. Eva