The Social Weather Station (SWS) reported that some 7.6 million Filipino families experienced hunger in the last three months.
This is the highest number recorded since 2012 as the country faces the coronavirus pandemic.
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The survey was conducted from September 17 to 20 and showed that 30.7% experienced hunger due to lack of food to eat. This is higher than the 20.9% recorded last July.
The current data is higher compared to the March 2012 survey which recorded a 23.8% hunger rate.
“The hunger trend has been rising since May 2020, upsetting a previous favorable trend when hunger steadily declined from 23.8% in March 2012 to 8.8% in December 2019,” SWS said in its statement.
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The SWS said that hunger was highest in the Visayas with 40.7%. Mindanao is next at 37.5%. Metro Manila recorded a 28.2% hunger rate while Luzon had 23.8%.
A total of 1,249 adult Filipinos were surveyed using mobile phones and computer-assisted telephone interviews.
