MALACANANG welcomed Tuesday the recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) that showed the lowest hunger rate in the country since June 2011.
The number of families who experienced hunger in December 2012 dropped to 16.3 percent from 21 percent in August 2012, with the rate at its lowest since the 15.1 percent recorded in June 2011, according to the poll.
Some three million families said they experienced hunger in June 2011, according to the survey.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the figure translates to one million fewer families who have experienced involuntary hunger in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The recent survey showed improvements in all geographic areas but overall hunger was still above the 14-year average of 14.5 percent as of December.
Valte said the Aquino administration remains committed to addressing hunger as a result of poverty.
“Through social interventions such as the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program which puts a premium on purchasing food for family beneficiaries and supplemental feeding programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, government continues to expand and enhance efforts to uplift living conditions for our countrymen,” she said.
“These initiatives both mitigate and lay the foundations to help families rise above poverty and better their lives,” she added.
The SWS survey also showed that moderate hunger eased to 12.7 percent (2.6 million families) last month from 18 percent (3.7 million families) in August.
Severe hunger, meanwhile, slightly increased to 3.6 percent (731,000 families) from three percent (611,000 families). Overall hunger declined the most in Mindanao, from 30.3 percent to 20 percent.
Visayas showed a four-point decline to 13.3 percent, while in Balance Luzon it was down by over three points to 12.7 percent.
Metro Manila showed slight increase of 0.7 point to 25.3 percent (719,000 families).
Moderate hunger slipped in Mindanao to 16 percent from 26 percent and also dropped in the Visayas to 10.7 percent from 15.7 percent, in Balance Luzon to 9.7 percent from 14 percent, and in Metro Manila to 19.3 percent from 20.3 percent.
Severe hunger, meanwhile, hardly changed in Mindanao (4 percent from 4.3 percent) and Metro Manila (6 percent from 5.7 percent) but rose by a point in Balance Luzon and the Visayas to 3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
The survey was conducted among 1,200 adults nationwide using face-to-face interviews with +/-3 percent error margin for national and +/-6 percent for area percentages. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)