Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar reiterated that the government is doing its best to solve the hunger crisis in the country. This is after the release of (SWS) survey conducted from December 12 to 16, 2021.

According to SWS, 11.8% of Filipino households or almost three million families are suffering from hunger from October to December 2021. The survey was more than the 10% or 2.5 million listed in September 2021.

Andanar said that “This figure is lower compared to the 16 families who shared the same experience in the last quarter of 2022.”

The hunger rate of the country is still lower compared to the May 2021 survey with 16.8% and June 2021 with 13.6 percent, SWS mentioned. 

Moreover, the SWS said, “The 1.8-[percentage] point rise in Overall Hunger between September 2021 and December 2021 is due to increases in all areas, except in Balance Luzon.”

The report of SWS showed that Metro  Manila has 22.8% or about 770,000 families who experience hunger in daily living. This number was higher than the 14% or 473,000 families who had struggled putting food on the table in the third quarter of 2021.

SWS said, “It has been the worst in Metro Manila in 22 out of 96 surveys since July 1998.”

However, Andanar assured us that the government will take necessary actions to address the issue of hunger in the Philippines.

“We have done much during this challenging time but we underscore that much more needs to be done to continuously address hunger and poverty,” Andanar stated. 

Photo Credit: facebook/MartinAndanar