MANILA – Increasing workers’ salaries is now the most urgent issue that Filipinos want the Marcos administration to address, according to a survey by OCTA Research.

The Dec. 3 to 11 survey, released yesterday, found that 45 percent of respondents selected wages as one of their top three concerns, with 22 percent naming it as their first choice. OCTA noted a “notable reordering of national priorities,” as wages had previously ranked lowest among the top three urgent issues since November 2024.

Controlling inflation remained a key concern, chosen by 41 percent of respondents, followed by access to affordable food (30 percent), fighting graft and corruption (29 percent), and providing free quality education (28 percent). Other issues included reducing poverty (24 percent), creating more jobs (19 percent), and fighting illegal drugs (12 percent).

“These movements suggest a shift in emphasis from price containment toward income sufficiency and wage stability,” OCTA said. “While easing inflation and improved perceptions of food security may have reduced the urgency of price-related concerns, the rising focus on wages indicates that many households remain attentive to income adequacy and economic resilience – particularly in managing everyday expenses and buffering against short-term shocks that may not be fully captured by broader poverty indicators.”

Other issues selected by fewer than 10 percent of respondents included fighting criminality (9 percent), lowering the price of rice (9 percent), promoting peace and order (7 percent), defending ownership of the West Philippine Sea (6 percent), providing assistance to farmers (6 percent), addressing involuntary hunger (6 percent), and equal enforcement of the law (6 percent). Environmental protection, tax reduction, supporting small entrepreneurs, and preparing for terrorist threats were cited by 5 percent or fewer respondents.

The survey polled 1,200 respondents and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.