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Saturday, January 07, 2006
Hunger among Pinoys reaches record high: survey
MANILA -- The level of hunger among Filipinos has risen to an alarming rate, with nearly 17 percent of people saying they had nothing to eat at least once over a three-month period, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said Friday.
Of the households queried, 16.7 percent reported experiencing hunger in the last quarter of 2005, up from 15.5 percent in August, SWS said -- a record high since it began hunger surveys in mid-1998.
The SWS said the proportional figure, or an estimated 2.8 million families, surpassed the previous peak of 16.1 percent in March 2001.
The SWS, in its November 27 to December 4, 2005 survey, also found that those describing themselves as living in poverty rose to 57 percent from 49 percent in the previous quarter.
The proportion of people going hungry has been in the double-digits ever since the second quarter of 2004 or for seven consecutive quarters now. It started in June 2004 with an overall hunger level of 13 percent, or almost double the 7.4 percent hunger level in March 2004.
"These directly-measured high levels of economic deprivation demonstrate yet again that orthodox economic statistics like Gross National Product give a very misleading picture of the state of economic well-being," the polling firm said.
The survey was released just days after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared war "against poverty, hunger and unemployment," and ordered the release of P35 billion to "pump prime" the economy.
The SWS said the highest proportion of hunger reported -- 21.7 percent in December from 12 percent in August 2005 -- was in the southern Mindanao region, which has been wracked by more than three decades of Muslim rebellion, extremist terror and communist insurgency.
Hunger also rose in metropolitan Manila to 21 percent from 16.7 percent and in the central Visayas region from 13.3 percent to 14.3 percent during the same period.
The survey was based on interviews between November 27 and December 4 of 1,200 household heads randomly selected nationwide, including 300 from metropolitan Manila. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Hunger was defined as having nothing to eat at least once in the past three months, excluding fasting for religious or other purposes.
SWS said the new record level of hunger was due to an increase in severe hunger (families going hungry often and always in the last three months), rather than moderate hunger (families going hungry once or a few times in the last three months).
Severe hunger reached 3.9 percent, an estimated 600,000 families, in December 2005, from 2.6 percent in August 2005. It was highest under the Arroyo administration at 6 percent in March 2001, followed by July 2001 and June 2004, both at 3.7 percent.
Moderate hunger was at 12.8 percent in December 2005, which translates to about 2.1 million families, compared to 12.9 percent in August 2005.
Hunger in Mindanao in December 2005 was highest at 21.7 percent, up by 10 points from 12 percent in August and by 16 points from a low of 5.3 percent in May 2005.
Hunger also rose in Metro Manila, from 16.7 percent to 21 percent, and in the Visayas from 13.3 to 14.3 percent. However, it declined in Luzon from 18 to 13.7 percent.
Self-rated hunger also went back up to 57 percent after going down to 49 percent in August 2005 from 57 percent in May 2005. It was highest at 62 percent in Mindanao, up by 10 points, and 55 percent in Luzon, which is an increase by 11 points.
Self-rated poverty is at 56 percent in Visayas and 53 percent in Metro Manila, both hardly changed from 55 percent and 52 percent, respectively, in August 2005.
The monthly budget that poor households say they need to escape poverty was at P10,000 in Metro Manila, and P5,000 outside of the capital.
The thresholds were already reached as early as six years ago, even though the cost of living rose greatly every year. SWS said the failure of the thresholds to increase despite much inflation is a sign that the poor are actually lowering their real living standards.
Arroyo told Cebuanos in Toledo City that she has ordered her Cabinet to release P35 billion as "pump-priming" budget for food, education, infrastructure, health, and housing.
She said she ordered Budget Secretary Romulo Neri Friday morning to release P500 million to subsidize the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) premiums of the poorest families in the Philippines. (JMR/AP/Sunnex)
(January 7, 2006 issue)
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