HUNGER level in the country has reached its lowest point since May 2005, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said Monday.
The June 5 to 8 survey showed that 12.7 percent of 1,200 respondents or about 2.8 million families said they experienced “involuntary hunger” at least once in the past three months.
The SWS said the total hunger rate in June 2015 was 0.8 percent lower than the 13.5 percent or three million families recorded in March. It was also the lowest score since the 12 percent registered in May 2005.
Some 10.8 percent of the respondents, or about 2.4 million families, experienced “moderate hunger” (hungry only once or a few times) while 1.9 percent or 431,000 families experienced “severe hunger” (often or always hungry).
The SWS said that both “moderate” and “severe” hunger eased slightly between March and June.
Malacañang welcomed the decline in hunger incidence.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that since 2010, the Aquino administration has been pressing forward in its goal of inclusive growth, toward a future where no one is left behind.
Among the government’s anti-poverty initiatives is the expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which covers more than 4.4 million households.
“The program is an example of the government’s commitment to the Filipino people, as it embodies concrete investments in human development, empowering beneficiaries and their families to better care for themselves. This is consistent with recent survey results on unemployment and underemployment, which have gone down under this administration,” Valte said.
She added prices of basic commodities have remained relatively steady, owing to the government’s efforts to ensure the consistency of food supply in the country.
“Recent results show that self-rated hunger has been on a downward trend these past quarters. We hope that this will continue, as the administration further ramps up its efforts to implement programs and policies that will contribute to a better overall quality of life for our citizens,” Valte said.
In terms of geographic areas, Metro Manila registered the highest hunger rate, with 18.3 percent or around 553,000 families saying they experienced hunger. It rose by 5.6 percentage points, from 12.7 percent in March.
Hunger in Balance Luzon was at 10.7 percent or estimated 1.1 million families, down by 3.6 percentage points from 14.3 percent or estimated 1.4 million families in March.
The SWS said Balance Luzon posted the lowest level of hunger since June 2011's 9.7 percent.
In Visayas, hunger slightly rose to 11.7 percent or about 499,000 families, from 11 percent or some 470,000 families in March.
Hunger in Mindanao, meanwhile, remained at 14.3 percent, the lowest since September 2011.
The survey used sampling error margins of three percent for national percentages and six percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The question asked by the SWS to each respondent was: “In the last three months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and not have anything to eat?”
Those who experienced hunger were further asked if they became hungry only once, a few times, often, or always. (Ma. Monica Padillo, UST intern/Sunnex)