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February 13, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who are “very happy” with their love life has dropped to its lowest in two decades, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.
Only 46 percent of respondents are “very happy” with their present relationship, down 12 points from 58 percent in December 2023, based on the Dec. 12 to 18 survey released ahead of Valentine’s Day.
The result matched the 46 percent obtained in a similar survey in 2004.
In 2002, the first SWS survey of Filipinos’ perception of their love life showed 58 percent were “very happy.”
It dropped to 46 percent in 2004 and recovered to over 50 percent a few years later.
Meanwhile, 36 percent of respondents said their love life “could be happier,” up from 23 percent in December 2023.
Those who said they have no love life slightly dropped from 19 percent to 18 percent.
Most married Filipinos are still “very happy” with their love life, although it fell among men and women, the survey showed.
About 61 percent of married men and 54 percent of married women said they were “very happy” in the December 2024 survey, down from 76 percent and 67 percent, respectively.
Among those with live-in partners, 49 percent of men and 53 percent of women said they were “very happy,” down from 69 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
Love scams
Filipinos should be wary of online scammers as Valentine’s Day approaches, according to the police Anti-Cybercrime Group.
The ACG recorded eight love scam cases from Jan. 1 to Feb. 6, which is higher compared to seven complaints during the same period last year.
Most victims are women aged between 21 and 76.
There were 72 cases of romance scams in 2024.
Scammers have dummy accounts on dating applications and other social media platforms, which they use in searching for potential victims, ACG spokesperson Lt. Wallen Mae Arancillo said.
One of the victims lost P600,000 in cash, she noted.
Free candies, rosaries
Pro-life groups will offer free candies and rosaries in exchange for condoms on Valentine’s Day.
Amid the discourse on comprehensive sex education and rising teen pregnancies in the Philippines, pro-life groups will distribute candies, rosaries and pro-chastity stickers in exchange for condoms on Feb. 14 at the Dangwa flower market in Manila.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2022 showed that 150,138 babies were born to adolescent mothers, which was 10.3 percent of all registered births in the country.
