After months of steady decline, hunger among Filipino families is once again on the rise. The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey shows that 22 percent of households experienced involuntary hunger, having nothing to eat at least once in the past three months. This marks a 5.9-point increase from 16.1 percent in June, breaking what had been a hopeful downward trend.
Earlier this year, hunger numbers had improved significantly, dropping from 27.2 percent in March to 19.1 percent in mid-April, and slightly fluctuating at 20 percent by the end of April. But the September results suggest that food insecurity is worsening once again, possibly due to rising prices and unstable livelihoods.
Worsening Food Insecurity Across the Country
Of those who went hungry, 16.7 percent said they experienced moderate hunger—meaning they went hungry “once” or “a few times.” Meanwhile, 5.2 percent endured severe hunger, describing it as happening “often” or “always.” Both categories climbed compared to the previous quarter: moderate hunger rose by 3.9 points, while severe hunger went up by 1.9 points.
The spike was seen in nearly all major areas, except in the Visayas, where hunger actually fell from 21.7 percent to 17.7 percent. SWS notes that the increase elsewhere cut across income levels, showing that even nonpoor families are starting to feel the pinch.
Metro Manila Tops Hunger List
Metro Manila recorded the highest hunger rate at 25.7 percent, followed by Balance Luzon at 23.8 percent, and Mindanao at 19.7 percent—all showing significant increases since June.
Among the self-rated poor, total hunger surged from 21 percent to 26.9 percent, while it also rose among the nonpoor from 11.4 percent to 17 percent. The gap was even more pronounced among those who consider themselves food-poor, where hunger jumped from 21.3 percent to 31.5 percent.
The SWS survey, conducted September 24–30 through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults, carries a ±3 percent margin of error nationwide. The findings serve as a stark reminder that many Filipino families continue to struggle to put food on the table.
