The number of Filipino families who experienced hunger went down during the second quarter of the year, according to the latest survey done by pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS).
An estimated 3.4 million Filipino families experienced hunger in the second quarter of 2021, the survey results show.
While the June 2021 hunger rate is lower than the 16.8 percent recorded in May, it is still above the 8.8 percent pre-pandemic percentage back in December 2019.
The survey also notes that the June 2021 hunger rate is lower than the 21.1 percent annual average recorded in 2020.
The 13.6 percent June 2021 hunger rate is the sum of the 11.5 percent who experienced moderate hunger and 2.1 percent who experienced severe hunger.
The survey says “moderate hunger” refers to those who experienced hunger only once or a few times in the last three months while “severe hunger” refers to those who experienced it often or always.
The survey result shows that 48% of families rated themselves as Poor, 23% feeling Not Poor, and 29% feeling Borderline Poor.
It also reports that 32% of families rated themselves as Food-Poor, 29% feeling Not Food-Poor, and 38% feeling Borderline Food-Poor.
Hunger during lockdown
On Sunday, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan appealed to the faithful to help feed the poor who will be most affected by the implementation of the lockdown this week because of the pandemic.
“Like I’ve said many times before, lockdowns for the poor can mean hunger, especially those who are daily wage earners, those who live a hand-to-mouth existence,” he said in a Facebook post.
The government has placed the national capital under heightened restrictions to help prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease.
Activist groups, however, said the lockdown “without sufficient socio-economic aid … will only result in more hunger and jobless Filipinos.”
The ecumenical group One Voice has earlier noted that extended lockdowns “have brought the economy to its knees and … leaves us extremely vulnerable.”
