MORE Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger or not having anything to eat in the last three months, the September 14 to 23 survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.
The survey, which involved 1,500 adult respondents with a margin of error of ±2.5, percent showed that 22.9 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger, up by 5.3 points from 17.6 percent in June.
It is composed of 16.8 percent (up from 12.8 percent) who experience moderate hunger or did not have anything to eat at least once or a few times in the last three months and 6.1 percent (up from 4.9 percent) who experienced severe hunger who did not have anything to eat often or always in the last three months.
SWS said hunger was highest in Mindanao at 30.7 percent (doubled from 15.7 percent), followed by the Visayas at 26 percent (up from 13,7 percent), Metro Manila at 21.7 percent (from 20 percent) and Luzon at 18.1 percent (down from 19.6 percent).
It added that hunger also rose among families that rated themselves poor at 29.3 percent (up from 21.3 percent), and not poor/borderline at 13.8 percent (from 12.7 percent).
It also rose sharply among the self-rated food poor at 34.5 percent (up from 23 percent) but stayed at 13.1 percent among the not food-poor/borderline food-poor.
