The proportion of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger dropped to 20.3 percent in the second quarter of the year, down from 23.2 percent in the first quarter, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The nationwide survey, conducted from June 20 to 29, involved 1,200 adult respondents and registered a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percent.
The overall figure breaks down into moderate and severe categories. Families experiencing moderate hunger, defined as going hungry “Only Once” or “A Few Times” over the preceding three months, rose slightly to 15.8 percent from 15.1 percent. Conversely, severe hunger, referring to those who experienced hunger “Often” or “Always” during the same period, decreased to 4.5 percent from 5.1 percent.
Regional figures revealed distinct geographic variations across the country. Involuntary hunger was highest in Mindanao at 24 percent, marking an increase from 21.7 percent in the previous quarter. The Visayas followed at 22.3 percent, showing an improvement from 28 percent. Metro Manila registered 21 percent, a slight decrease from 22 percent, while Luzon saw the most notable drop, falling to 17.3 percent from 22.4 percent.
The SWS survey further tracked improvements across self-rated poverty and food poverty brackets. Among families identifying as poor, the incidence of hunger declined to 24.5 percent from 27.5 percent. For those who rated themselves as not poor or borderline poor, hunger fell to 16.2 percent from 18.5 percent.
A similar downward trend was observed among households classified as food poor, where hunger dropped to 29.9 percent from 32.6 percent. Among those not categorized as food poor or who fell into the borderline food poor group, hunger decreased to 14.7 percent from 16.4 percent.