The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has welcomed the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) report that showed a decline in hunger incidence among Filipinos at 20.1 percent, saying government efforts to address it are working.
In line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the DSWD also aims to expand the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) by increasing the number of beneficiaries to 300,000 this year.
Under the WGP, beneficiaries receive monthly food credits amounting to P3,000 through their issued Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which they can use to purchase nutritious food from DSWD-accredited stores.
The latest SWS survey covering the period November 24-30, 2025 reflects nearly a 2-percentage point decrease from the 22-percent hunger rate recorded in the third quarter of the same year.
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, the DSWD’s spokesperson, said the survey results show that the collaborative and sustained efforts of the government to address hunger are working.
“The Department welcomes the results and sees it as a positive reinforcement of the work we do. A decrease in hunger rate, no matter how small it is, is a big win for all of us. It shows that there is already improvement in the situation of Filipino families suffering from hunger,” Dumlao said.
A total of 1,200 adult respondents nationwide participated in the SWS survey.
The 20.1 percent hunger rate consists of 15.6 percent who experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” (moderate hunger) and 4.5 percent who experienced hunger “often” or “always” (severe hunger) in the past three months.
The SWS survey showed that hunger incidence remained highest in Mindanao at 26.7 percent, followed by Metro Manila and the Visayas at 20.3 percent, while the rest of Luzon recorded a lower rate at 16.7 percent.
The Walang Gutom Program also encourages poor households to participate in nutrition education and job skills training to promote self-reliance, making the initiative more than just food assistance.
The DSWD is continuously conducting validation of WGP beneficiaries based on the list of food-poor from the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“We recognize the results of surveys like that of SWS and use it to further improve our public service delivery. It’s important to hear the public’s feedback on our programs,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out.
To further address the hunger incidence among Filipinos in 2026, the Department is looking at expanding the reach of the Walang Gutom Kitchen (WGK) as well, which provides hot meals to individuals with no access to food, particularly those living on the streets.
Dumlao noted that the Walang Gutom Kitchen provides from 300 to 350 meals for breakfast and another 300 to 350 meals for lunch every day.
“This year, ang gusto po ni Secretary Rex Gatchalian ay mas mapadami pa ang ating mga Walang Gutom Kitchen, kaya naman as of now nakikipag-ugnayan pa ang DSWD sa iba’t-ibang partner organizations para sa maidala natin ang ganitong serbisyo sa iba pang mga rehiyon at siyudad,” Dumlao said.
(This year, what Secretary Rex Gatchalian wants is to increase the number of Walang Gutom Kitchens, which is why as of now DSWD is still in contact with various partner organizations so that we can bring this service to other regions and cities.)
