The Social Weather Stations released Wednesday the results of a survey suggesting fewer Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger from July to September compared to the previous quarter., a scenario welcomed immediately by Malacañang.
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The Sept. 27-30 poll found that 9.1 percent or an estimated 2.3 million families went hungry due to lack of food in the third quarter of the year, down from 10 percent or 2.5 million logged in June, said SWS.
Malacañang said the drop in the number of Filipino families who experienced hunger was the evidence the government programs to address hunger and poverty were working. “©”©
“For some the drop to 9.1 percent from the previous quarter’s 10 percent may seem nominal, that is just about 200,000 less families from June’s 2.5 million families, but to us this means that the steps concerned agencies are taking are in the right direction,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said.
“An estimated 2.3-million Filipino families, or 9.1 percent, experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, according to the latest results of the Third Quarter Social Weather Survey.
Official sources said the latest hunger rate was the sum of 7.4 percent or around 1.8 million families who went hungry only once or a few times in the last 3 months, and 1.7 percent or around 426,000 families who went hungry always.
The quarterly decrease in the national hunger rate is due to a decrease of 7.4 points in Metro Manila, a decrease of 1.2 points in Balance Luzon, a steady figure in the Visayas, and an increase of 2.9 points in Mindanao.
The non-commissioned survey had 1,800 respondents and a sampling error margin of ±2.3 percent for national percentages.
In the second half of his six-year term, President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration will focus on “adequate food, water, education, housing and health,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said back in July.
The decrease in the national hunger rate in the third quarter, SWS said, was due to a decrease of 7.4 points in Metro Manila (from 15.7 percent to 8.3 percent), a decline of 1.2 points in the rest of Luzon (from 9.3 percent to 8.1 percent), a steady figure in Visayas (8.7 percent), and an increase of 2.9 points in Mindanao (from 9 percent to 11.9 percent).
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SWS pointed out that the 9.1 percent national quarterly hunger rate in September is the sum of 7.4 percent (1.8 million families) who experienced “moderate hunger” and 1.7 percent (426,000 families) who experienced “severe hunger.”
Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, while severe hunger refers to those who experienced it “often” or “always” in the last three months.
Compared to June 2019 figures, moderate hunger went down from 8.7 percent (2.1 million families), while severe hunger went up from 1.3 percent (320,000 families).
Andanar said it was a fact that poverty and hunger are linked and our government will continue initiatives that address both concurrently. “©”©
He cited that the programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), signed into law by President Duterte, the Free Education Act, and the Universal Health Care Act are aimed to reduce poverty and poverty-related problems in the country.
“The government is also working to create more jobs through programs like the Government Internship Program and JobStart, as well as focusing on sectors that can create more jobs,” Andanar said.”©”©
“We have programs to tackle the issue of food supply and food costs. The administration is prioritizing the agriculture and aquaculture sector through development programs. It is also fortifying the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program [CARP], and its infrastructure thrust will ensure that adequate and efficient farm-to-market linkages are made along with dams for water supply needed by farms,” Andanar added. With Vito Barcelo