MANILA - Majority of Filipinos will celebrate Christmas just as they did last year while 91 percent will welcome the New Year with hope despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Pulse Asia survey released Wednesday.

Of 2,400 adults surveyed from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2, some 55 percent said this year’s Christmas would be the same for them as the previous year, while 38 percent said this year's holiday season would be less prosperous, and 8 percent said they are expecting a more prosperous celebration.

The prevailing sentiment was highest among residents of Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon at 60 percent each, followed by those in the Visayas at 55 percent, and residents of Mindanao at 41 percent.

More Filipinos this year, meanwhile, expect their holidays to be less prosperous, with 38 percent saying they would be poorer versus 11 percent in 2019, the study showed.

Some 91 percent of respondents, meantime, were optimistic for 2021, while 8 percent were "ambivalent," and 1 percent said they would face the new year without hope, according to the survey.

The sentiment was most popular in Balance Luzon (93 percent), followed by Visayas (92 percent), Metro Manila (91 percent), and Mindanao (87 percent).

The survey, with a sampling error margin of ±2 percent for national percentages, was conducted after a series of storms inundated Luzon and parts of Visayas.

• Record climate disasters in Asia-Pacific push millions to 'breaking point'

It also followed the announcement of drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna that their vaccines are more than 90 percent effective, and the extension of general community quarantine in Metro Manila and Davao City until end of December.

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The COVID-19 surge in Metro Manila has begun, the OCTA Research Group warned days before Christmas.

• Metro Manila COVID-19 surge begins ahead of Christmas: OCTA Research

The Philippines as of Tuesday reported 462,815 COVID-19 cases, with 24,375 active infections.

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