THE Duterte administration has implemented measures to lessen the impact of inflation so that every Filipino family could buy basic commodities, particularly rice, Malacañang spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
He was reacting to the Social Weather Stations recent survey that showed many Filipino families experienced hunger in the past three months.
“We are fully aware of what the public feels with regards to (sic) the rising prices of basic commodities. The President has issued measures, among them is allowing the importation of more rice,” Panelo said Saturday.
He said President Duterte signed Administrative Order 13 last month to streamline procedures on the importation of agricultural products including rice.
The SWS survey said the number of families that experienced hunger increased by 3.9 points to 13.3 percent, equivalent to 3.1 million families, during the third quarter of 2018.
The 2018 third quarter hunger figures were the highest since 2017’s fourth quarter of 15.9 percent.
According to the SWS survey, more Filipino families have experienced involuntary hunger at least once a day due to lack of food to eat in the past three months.
The survey said the number of families that experienced hunger increased by 3.9 points to 13.3 percent, equivalent to 3.1 million families, during 2018’s third quarter.
The survey was conducted last Sept. 15-23, stating that among 1,500 respondents, the survey found 13.3 percent or an estimated 3.1 million families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.
According to the SWS, the measure of hunger refers to involuntary suffering because the respondents answered a survey question that specified hunger due to lack of food to eat.
Of those who experienced involuntary hunger during 2018’s third quarter, 10.6 percent or 2.5 million families experienced moderate hunger, or experienced hunger once or a few times during the quarter.
The remaining 2.8 percent, or at least around 643,000 families, experienced severe hunger, or experienced hunger either often or always.
The moderate-hunger figure of 10.6 percent is 2.5 points higher than the second quarter’s 8.1 percent, and were the highest since the 12.2 percent during 2017’s fourth quarter.
Severe hunger also rose during the third quarter and at 2.8 percent was 1.5 points higher than the previous quarter’s 1.3 percent.
The third quarter severe hunger figure was also the highest since the 3.7 percent during 2017’s fourth quarter.
It increased in Metro Manila by one point, from 12 percent in June to 13 percent in September; by three points in the rest of Luzon, from 6 percent to 9 percent; and Mindanao by seven points from 9 percent to 16 percent.
It decreased by 3.3 points in the Visayas from 9.3 percent to 6 percent.
Hunger also rose in Mindanao during 2018’s third quarter, and was up to 18.3 percent from the previous quarter’s 11.3 percent.
Mindanao’s moderate hunger numbers rose to 16 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter’s nine percent.
Severe hunger was, meanwhile, unchanged at 2.3 percent.
Poor families were the most affected, with hunger rising to 18.5 percent during the third quarter, the highest since 2017’s fourth quarter, from the previous quarter’s 12.6 percent.
Hunger also rose to 7.6 percent from 6.5 percent among the non-poor.
Among the self-rated food poor, hunger rose to 22.3 percent from the second quarter’s 14.8 percent, while it also rose to 8.2 percent from 6.7 percent among the not food-poor/food-borderline.
The third quarter 2018 SWS hunger poll was taken from September 15 to 23, 2018, using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults.
In a statement, Panelo said measures implemented by the government would lower the price of basic food products for Filipino consumers since certain administrative requirements unduly added to the cost of importation and limit food supply.
“The President has signed Memorandum Order 26, 27, and 28, all of which are measures to stabilize prices of basic agricultural commodities at reasonable levels, maintain their sufficient supply in the domestic market, and provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering, and cartels with respect to the supply, distribution, marketing, and pricing of said goods, “ he said.
Panelo hoped these measures would lesssen the impact of inflation and help the public buy basic goods at lower price.