December 2022 saw 3 million Filipino households hungry

The latest poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that over three million Filipino households went without food at least once in the preceding three months, a marginal rise from the previous quarter.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, January 19, the SWS stated that the 11.8% Hunger Rate documented in their December 2022 survey in the Philippines was somewhat higher than the 11.3% Hunger Rate in October 2022 and the 11.6% Hunger Rate in June 2022.

The two most recent hunger rates reported by SWS under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were somewhat lower than the 12.2% hunger rate recorded in April 2022, the latest such survey done during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

According to the most recent study, Mindanao has the highest hunger rate at 12.7%, followed by Visayas at 12.0%, Metro Manila at 11.7%, and the rest of Luzon at 11.7%.

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“The increase of 0.5 points in Overall Hunger between October 2022 and December 2022 was attributed to increases in the Visayas and Balance of Luzon, as well as declines in Metro Manila and Mindanao,” SWS explained.

Of the three million households who suffered hunger, 599,000 families had “severe hunger” while the remaining families experienced “moderate hunger.”

In the countrywide fourth-quarter SWS survey, which was conducted via face-to-face interviews, 1,200 respondents aged 18 and older participated. The pollster conducted interviews with 300 people in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visas, and Mindanao.

The respondents were questioned, “Did your family face hunger and lack of food at least once in the past three months?”

At the time the SWS conducted its study on hunger, inflation had risen to 8.1%, its highest level since November 2008.

A study performed by OCTA Research in October 2022 revealed that around 36% of adult Filipinos were unsatisfied with the Marcos administration’s reaction to inflation.