By Brian Jules Campued
Turns out, money indeed can buy happiness as it tops the list of preferred Valentine’s Day gifts of Filipinos, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed.
Asked what gift they want to receive from a loved one on Valentine’s Day, at least 16% of adult Filipinos nationwide said they would want to receive money, followed by love and companionship (11%) and flowers (10%).
The poll results, which were released on Sunday, also said nine percent wished for apparel as a gift this Feb. 14 while five percent answered they wanted any gift as long as it came “from the heart” of their loved one as well as mobile phones and watch or jewelry.
Some five percent of respondents wished not for material gifts but for good family relationships.
Meanwhile, more women preferred money (19%) while more men wished for apparel (14%).
About 11% and 10% of women and men, respectively, long for love and companionship this coming Valentine’s Day.
The SWS survey also bared that the majority or 58% of respondents were “very happy” with their love life – the highest since the record-high 59% in 2011 – while 23% said “it could be happier”.
Most married couples are “very happy” with their romantic relationship as some 76% and 67% of married male and female respondents said so, respectively.
However, the number of Filipinos with no love life is “gradually increasing” to 19% from the recorded 10% in 2002.
Similarly, around 28% of men and 27% of women said they are still “very happy” even without a partner, a couple of days before Valentine’s Day.
The latest SWS survey was conducted face-to-face last Dec. 8-11, 2023 and involved 1,200 adults nationwide. – avds
