MANILA - Majority of Filipinos said the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was "adequate", except for providing aid for those who lost their jobs, according to an independent survey released Saturday.

The Social Weather Stations said that in terms of helping people left jobless by the pandemic,

44 percent said government efforts helping people left jobless by the pandemic were "adequate," while 46 percent said they were inadequate and 9 percent were undecided.

The net adequacy, or the score of adequate percentage minus inadequate percentage, was lowest in Metro Manila (-15), followed by Balance Luzon (-2), Mindanao (-1), and the Visayas (+4).

The COVID-19 pandemic, which dragged the economy into recession in the second quarter, has left 4.6 million jobless Filipinos as of July according to the state statistics agency.

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Meanwhile, 71 percent found "adequate" government actions ensuring the public has enough information on how to fight COVID-19, with 22 percent saying they were "inadequate" and 6 percent were undecided.

The sentiment was highest in Mindanao (+52) and Visayas (+51) than in Balance Luzon (+47) and Metro Manila (+45).

Some 67 percent said government actions to ensure there would be extensive contact tracing were "adequate," 37 percent said they were "inadequate," and 9 percent were undecided.

It was highest among residents of Balance Luzon (+49), followed by Visayas (+47), Mindanao (+37), and Metro Manila (+29).

Government recently hired almost 50,000 additional contact tracers in a bid to stop community transmission of the virus.

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The survey also found 54 percent of respondents saying government efforts to ensure there is affordable coronavirus testing were "adequate," while 33 percent said they were "inadequate" and 11 percent were undecided.

The net adequacy was highest in the Visayas (+28), followed by Mindanao (+25), Balance Luzon (+18), and Metro Manila (+16).

The health department said it has tapped other laboratories to run coronavirus tests after the Philippine Red Cross halted servicing government due to state insurer PhilHealth's debts worth P1 billion.

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The September 17 to 20 poll was conducted using mobile and computer-assisted telephone interviewing 1,249 adult Filipinos. It had a sampling error margin of ±3 percent for national percentages.

The Philippines confirmed 2,379 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday bringing the country’s total to 356,618.