SWS: 2.5 million families experience hunger in April to June 2019

Among the 10 percent of families, 8.7 percent or 2.1 million of them said they experienced “moderate hunger,” while the other 1.3 percent or 320,000 families experienced “severe hunger.” (Shutterstock file photo)

The proportion of Filipino families who experienced hunger at least once in the past three months has slightly increased, according to the Second Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey.

The latest poll, published on Monday, the day that President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), revealed that 10 percent or an estimated 2. million families nationwide said they experienced “involuntary hunger” at least once from April to June.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) noted that this is “slightly higher” than the 9.5 percent or at least 2.3 million families last March 2019.

The measure of hunger, it said, refers to “involuntary suffering since the survey question specifies that the hunger experienced was due to lack of food to eat.”

Among the 10 percent of families, 8.7 percent or 2.1 million of them said they experienced “moderate hunger,” while the other 1.3 percent or 320,000 families experienced “severe hunger.”

The moderate hunger rate, or people who experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, climbed to 8.7 percent in June from the 8.1 percent in March, while the severe hunger rate, or those who experienced hunger “often” or “always” in April to June, stayed at 1.3 percent last month.

The SWS said the rise in the nationwide hunger rate comes after a 3.8-percentage point decrease within the past three quarters. From 13.3 percent in September 2018, it decreased to 10.5 percent in December to 9.5 percent in March 2019.

However, the slight increase in hunger rate happened only among the self-rated poor (SRP) and self-rated food poor families (SRFP). The SRP are those who consider themselves as “mahirap (poor),” while the SRFP are those who rate the food they eat as “mahirap (poor).”

The hunger rate among the SRP families went up by 4.3 points from 11.9 percent in March. It also jumped to 17.3 percent among the SRFP families from the 14.2 percent last March.

Hunger rises in Metro Manila, Mindanao

Metro Manila was recorded with the highest hunger incidence with 15.7 percent, a four-point increase from 11.7 percent in March.

The hunger rate also rose to nine percent in June from 6.1 percent in March.

But it was a different case in both Balance Luzon and Visayas, as the hunger incidence went down to 9.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.

From June 22-26, the SWS has asked some 1,200 adults nationwide, using face-to-face interviews, the question, “Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nangyari po ba kahit minsan na ang inyong pamilya ay nakaranas ng gutom at wala kayong makain? (OO, HINDI) (In the last 3 months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and not have anything to eat? (YES, NO).”

Those who said yes were further asked, “Nangyari po ba ‘yan ng MINSAN LAMANG, MGA ILANG BESES, MADALAS, o PALAGI (Did it happen ONLY ONCE, A FEW TIMES, OFTEN, or ALWAYS)?”

The SWS said the sampling error margins used in their survey were plus or minus three percent for national percentages and plus or minus six percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“The SWS survey questions on the family’s experience of hunger are directed to the household head. These items are non-commissioned, and are included on SWS’s own initiative and released as a public service,” the pollster said.