Hunger rate rises in Q1 survey

CEBU, Philippines — Nearly one in four Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger during the first quarter of the year, according to a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations.

Results of the March 24 to 31 survey, released Tuesday night, showed that 23.2 percent of respondents experienced hunger or had nothing to eat at least once in the past three months.

The figure was higher than the 20.1 percent recorded in a similar survey conducted in November last year.

The latest hunger rate consisted of 17.7 percent of respondents who said their families experienced moderate hunger, up from 15.6 percent, and 5.5 percent who experienced severe hunger, higher than the previous 4.5 percent.

Moderate hunger refers to families that experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, while severe hunger refers to those that experienced it “often” or “always” during the same period.

Across major areas, the March 2026 hunger rate was highest in the Visayas at 28 percent, up from 20.3 percent. This was followed by Balance Luzon at 22.4 percent from 16.7 percent, Metro Manila at 22 percent from 20.3 percent, and Mindanao at 21.7 percent, although lower than the previous 26.7 percent.

SWS said involuntary hunger was more prevalent among poor households at 27.5 percent compared with non-poor or borderline poor households at 18.5 percent.

The latest survey also found that 52 percent of respondents considered their families poor, while 35 percent described themselves as “not poor.” The remaining 13 percent were classified by the polling firm as borderline households.

The survey involved 1,500 respondents nationwide and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. — The Philippine Star News Service/FPL (FREEMAN)