SEN. Bong Go said Saturday that the latest OCTA Research Tugon ng Masa survey has identified health as the most urgent personal concern among adult Filipinos.
He said the data confirmed the need for the government to accelerate efforts to improve public health care services, particularly for poor and vulnerable sectors burdened by rising medical and living costs.
The noncommissioned OCTA Research survey, conducted from March 19 to 25, through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult Filipinos, found that 67 percent of respondents considered staying healthy and avoiding illness as their top personal concern. The survey carried a plus or minus 3-percent margin of error at a 95-percent confidence level.
Results also showed that 46 percent of respondents were concerned about having enough food daily, while 42 percent cited the need for stable and well-paying jobs. Meanwhile, 41 percent said building savings was a priority, and 39 percent identified access to education for themselves or their children as an urgent concern.
Go, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, noted that the survey reflects the realities many Filipinos continue to face, including fear of illness, expensive health care and financial struggles in meeting basic household needs.
He said that for many families, sickness often leads to additional burdens such as hospital bills, medicine expenses, transportation costs and other daily necessities. Because of this, he stressed the importance of sustaining health care services, especially in poor and geographically isolated communities.
The senator emphasized that health care must remain a national priority, warning that illness can further push struggling families into poverty. He added that accessible community-based health services are necessary so Filipinos can receive consultations, early diagnosis and treatment before conditions become severe.
The OCTA survey likewise identified the country’s top urgent national concerns, with controlling the prices of basic goods and services ranking highest at 45 percent. This was followed by increasing workers’ wages and salaries by 33 percent, combating corruption in government by 26 percent, improving access to affordable food at 24 percent and reducing poverty by 20 percent.
