The University Research Council through the Social Research Training and Development Office of Ateneo de Davao will have the research dissemination of the City-wide Social Survey Series 3. The research covered three districts of Davao City and data-gathering was done on May 11-17, 2015 through face-to-face interviews. Ms. Mildred M. Estanda (Director, Ateneo Migration Center), Dr. Christine S. Diaz (OIC, Social Research Training and Development Office) and Ms. Vanessa Sobrejuanite (faculty, Sociology Department) will present the results of the survey on June 17, 2015, at Finster Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University.
Socio-demographic profile
In terms of socio-demographic profile, majority of the respondents are married, Roman Catholics and with high literacy rate. Bisaya is the primary language and the majority ethnic affiliation is Bisaya. About one-third of the Davaoenos are attending religious services at least once a week. When asked regarding the impact of the Papal visit, majority say that they became “more prayerful” (District 1 = 31.4%, District 2 = 27.3%, District 3 = 27.9%), “more caring” (District 1 = 13.3%, District 2 = 8.6%, District 3 = 14.4%), and started “to attend mass more often” (District 1 = 17.1%, District 2 = 27.3%, District 3 = 7.9%).
Household Amenities and Facilities
Majority of the households in Davao City have running water or piped water into their homes. The quality of water is good according to respondents. For few Davaoenos who still do not have running water into their homes, their sources of water are spring, artesian well, and pump.
In Davao City, 95% of the households have electricity. For the few who do not have electricity, they rely on kerosene, battery and other energy sources. As to the mode of communication, only few Davaoenos have a telephone connection while majority have cell phones. Television ownership among Davaoenos is high and majority watch TV every day for more than three hours.
In terms of garbage disposal, majority affirm they rely on the city garbage collection. Other ways of garbage disposal according to respondents are “composting” and “burning”. There are few who “recycle” their garbage.
More than half of the respondents own a personal computer, tablet and smartphone with internet connection. Ownership of two-wheeled private vehicle is dominant among Davaoenos with “jeepney” as the common mode of transportation.
Health
Majority of Davaoenos consider themselves healthy due to reasons such as “absence of sickness”, having “peace of mind”, “contentment” and availability of “financial resources”. Community health was also seen as important and most Davaoenos consider their community healthy due to the “absence of conflict” and “cleanliness in the community” as the top reasons cited. In relation to health, the common illnesses are “arthritis”, “ulcer”, “UTI”, “kidney failure”, “pneumonia”, “dengue”, “cough”, “flu”, and “fever”. It is good to note that in terms of health-seeking behavior, majority consult their doctors. However, about one-third self-medicate. On HIV awareness, majority say they are aware of the spread of AIDS-HIV and the television was cited as the common source of information on such matter.
Labor and Employment
More than half of the Davao City residents are working and are mostly hired and self-employed. Majority are classified as service workers, shop and market sales workers. For those hired, they looked for additional work in the past week due to limited income. Only few aspire to live abroad. The same pattern was revealed when they were asked whether they currently look for work abroad. Majority have OFW family members working mostly in Middle East.
The median family income of 10,000 pesos is commonly spent on food, education and utilities. Majority agree there is a large income gap in the country. As to self-rated poverty, most Davaoenos report that they are “on the line” and generally did not experience hunger in the past three months.
Financial Situation, Wealth Creation, Economic Trends
Across three districts, many claim their income is just enough to cover expenditures. Some resorted to various coping measures in order to increase income by “spending less”, having “extra work or sidelines”, and rendering “overtime”.
More than half believe that jobs will be available in the next 12 months and it is easier to find jobs in Davao City in the next 12 months. Overall, Davaoenos claim they enjoyed very big improvement on roads, bridges and canals, 911 services, and public school buildings. It is good to note also that Davaoenos have positive perceptions on the quality of life and the local economy in the next 12 months.
Environment
Only thirteen percent experienced natural calamities with “flood” surfacing as the common type of disaster experienced by respondents. Among those who experienced natural calamities only 48% went to evacuation areas. Those who did not evacuate believe it is not necessary to do so. Half of the respondents are aware of the early warning system, while majority affirm they are aware of disaster response system and the designated officials responsible during calamities. Only 36% have attended disaster preparedness/response trainings although majority report they will cooperate in local initiatives to address climate change. Davaoenos are satisfied on the performance of barangay officials, AFP, PNP, DSWD, city government, church and private firms in times of disaster.
K to 12
Fifty-seven percent affirm they know K to12 but only 50% understand the process of K to 12. Twelve percent report they have a family member who will be enrolling in Senior High School. The “Academic Track (31.6%)” and the “Tech-Voc Livelihood (26.6%)” surfaced as common strands of choice. However, 34% of Davoaenos do not know yet which strand to choose. They are more likely to enroll in public schools. Only 27% claim they will enroll their family member who will be in senior high in a private sectarian school.
The perceived challenges of K to 12 implementation according to respondents are the following: “additional cost to the family”, “more years added to schooling”, “selection of the K to 12 strand” and the “selection of the school where students can enroll”. However, despite those perceived challenges, majority have positive perceptions about the senior high school. Many believe that the senior high school “can prepare students when they enter college”, and “can increase the competitiveness of the students as they enter the workforce”. Furthermore, according to respondents, senior high school will “increase the employability of students” and “can help address job shortage”.
ASEAN Integration
Only 20% of the Davaoenos have heard of the ASEAN integration. Among the few who claim otherwise, they believe that ASEAN integration has good implications to Mindanao and we are ready for the ASEAN integration.
Bangsamoro Basic Law
It is interesting to note that 68% of Davaoenos know the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). However, only 8.5% have read the BBL. The top three sources of information regarding the BBL are “television”, “radio” and “newspaper”. Davaoenos showed their diverse views on the BBL. Forty-percent disagree that “if the BBL is passed, it will help in achieving peace in Mindanao” while forty-two percent say otherwise, and 18% do not know. The perceptions of the Davaenos show a seemingly divided posture taken by respondents on the issues related to BBL. Forty-one percent (41%) agree that “if BBL is passed, Mindanao’s economy will improve”, while 41% say otherwise. Thirty-seven percent disagree that the “BBL is compliant with the 1987 Constitution” while 28% do agree. Forty-four percent agree that “the BBL should be passed by Congress before Pnoy’s administration ends, while 38% claim otherwise.
Current Events
Davaoenos were asked how important it is to understand current events. Majority affirmed that it is of great importance to understand the following issues: “Bangsamoro Basic Law”, “ASEAN Integration”, “Mamasapano Incident”, “Federalism”, “Spratly Islands territorial dispute”, “Human Trafficking” and the “alleged corruption of VP Binay”.
Peace and Order
Davaoenos have their own perceptions of peace and order and what it means to them. Majority define peace and order as “absence of violent crimes, assaults and threats”, “absence of drugs and drug trafficking”, as well as “absence of gangs and juvenile delinquency”. The perceived greatest threat to peace and order according to respondents are: “drugs/drug trafficking”, “violent crimes”, and “terrorism”. Those perceived threats run parallel with the perceived top five local problems namely, “drugs and drug trafficking”, “lack of livelihood and employment opportunities”, killing and other crimes”, “poverty” and “traffic”.
Majority of Davaoenos are worried of “criminalities”, “bombing and bomb threats”, “drugs and drug trafficking”, as well as “poverty”. Despite the perceived threats to peace and order, majority agree that the peace and order in Davao City has improved in the past six months and the criminal incidence has also gone down.
In terms of awareness and compliance of Davao City residents to local ordinances, there is a higher rating on awareness to city ordinances as compared with compliance of those. Among Davaoenos, the top ordinances mostly complied are the “Anti-smoking ordinance (49.3%)”, “Liquor Ban (47.7%)”, “Garbage Segregation and Waste Disposal (47.4%)”, “Women’s Development Code 43.7%)”, “Curfew for Minors (43.7%)” and “Speed Limit (42.9%)”. Least complied ordinances according to Davaoenos are, “Anti-Jaywalking (23.9%)” and “Rainwater Harvesting (16.9%)”.
Social Inequality
For most Davaoenos, there are important considerations in addressing social inequality. More than ninety percent of male and female respondents affirm that “having good education” and “having an ambition” are important. More than seventy percent of both males and females consider “having well-educated parents” as another important consideration for social equality. Interestingly, still on the issue of addressing social inequality, there are more males (72.1%) claiming the importance of “having political connections” as against females who gave a slightly lower percentage rating that is, 60.3%. On a positive note, “coming from a wealthy family” and “giving bribes” were seen generally by both males and females as not highly important in gaining social equality.
Governance
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte surfaced as the runaway favorite of Davaoenos with 98.1% satisfaction rating. A resounding majority gave a thumbs-up for Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s performance. Other local officials such as vice-mayor Pulong Duterte (85.6%), local council (82.8%) and local barangay officials (82.9%) also got high satisfaction rating from Davaoenos. When compared with the chief executive, President Pnoy Aquino also got the nod of most Davaoenos with 70.5% satisfaction rating. Other officials of the government namely, the national administration (68.8%), Supreme Court (66.5%), Senate (64.3%), district representatives (77.7%), House of Representatives (61.7%) were also given good score cards by Davao City respondents.
Majority of Davaoenos are registered voters and were able to cast their votes in the May 2013 and October 2013 elections. When asked if they agree on Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s possible 2016 presidential bid, majority agreed. The “top 5 presidentiables” preferred by respondents are: Rodrigo Duterte (72.2%), Grace Poe (48.4%), Jejomar Binay (42.1%), Mar Roxas (24.3%) and Chiz Escudero 8.1%).
Happiness
When it comes to happiness, majority of the Davaoenos are happy due to “health and wellness”, “financial stability” and good “relationship”. Those who are unhappy attribute such to reasons such as “financial problem”, “relationship problem” and “health problems”.