Hunger rises 23.2% – SWS poll

MANILA, Philippines — Almost one in every four Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger in the first quarter of the year, a Social Weather Stations survey showed.

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

It went up from 20.1 percent in a similar survey in November 2025.

The latest hunger rate comprised 17.7 percent of respondents who said their families experienced moderate hunger (from 15.6 percent) and 5.5 percent who experienced severe hunger (from 4.5 percent).

Moderate hunger is experienced “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, while severe hunger is “often” or “always.”

Across areas, the March 2026 hunger rate was highest among respondents in the Visayas at 28 percent (from 20.3 percent), followed by those in 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 (from 26.7 percent).

Fifty-two percent of respondents considered their families poor, while 35 percent said their families are “not poor.”