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Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Through the stomach

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Toward the end of the previous year, 3.6 million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger. This represents almost 16 percent of the population. 

The number is 4.1 percentage points higher than the 11.8 percent recorded in the third quarter of the same year. 

More significantly, the latest hunger numbers are the highest recorded since December 2014. Incidence of hunger rose across the country. 

Respondents characterized their hunger as moderate or severe. 

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Hunger is perhaps most felt nearing the Christmas holidays, when there is increased economic activity and artificial prosperity. Those who barely have enough to shop with, much less eat, will likely feel more deprived. 

The hunger data is also best viewed over a long time, with attention to the quarterly shifts in sentiment. The numbers will vary every three months, of course, but one would always observe an underlying trend if one stepped back and looked at how many Filipinos felt hungry over many years —and yes, across administrations. 

It is a common tendency to focus on headline-grabbing announcements, or bickering, in government. Look, now, how we pay attention to incendiary remarks or scandalous conduct by this or that official. See how we spend an inordinate amount of time debating legalities or finding a way to bring down an enemy or a critic. 

We very easily forget that the ultimate test of whether an administration is doing is by how fewer Filipinos think of themselves as hungry, destitute—hopeless.

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