40% of Pinoys still want to celebrate Valentine’s Day – SWS

MANILA, Philippines — The past few months may have been tough due to the pandemic, but Filipinos are not forgetting Valentine’s Day, with two out of five saying they will still celebrate the special day, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

Although a bit different this year, Jen Mas, a 26-year-old site manager, said she and her partner plan to celebrate by attending a Sunday Mass online and preparing a meal together.

“Our original plan was actually to spend Valentine’s with his family and go to church, but due to the pandemic, work and personal life, we’re just gonna stay and spend time at home,” she said.

Mas is among the 40 percent of Filipinos who would still celebrate Valentine’s Day, according to the SWS survey. The remaining 31 percent were undecided while 27 percent would not celebrate.

Conducted from Nov. 21 to Nov. 25 among 1,500 adults, the survey had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.5 percent.

Among those who would celebrate Valentine’s Day, 45 percent would go to church or other religious activities, 27 percent would give gifts to their loved ones, 25 percent would prepare special food at home and 11 percent would send greetings online.

Fifty percent of Filipinos also said they had a “very happy” love life, the lowest since 2014 when it was 49 percent. —Inquirer Research