THE proportion of Filipino families saying they have gone hungry rose in the last three months of 2017, according to the latest Social Weather Stations survey released Monday.
In the latest poll conducted from Dec. 8 to 16, some 15.9 percent, or an estimated 3.6-million families, expressed they experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months of 2017—4.1 points above the 11.8 percent, or the 2.7-million families recorded in September 2017.
The latest figure is also the highest recorded value for hunger since the 17.2 percent in December 2014.
Some 12.2 percent, or an estimated 2.8-million families, said they experienced Moderate Hunger, while 3.7 percent or an estimated 841,000 families said that they had severe hunger.
Both Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger increased for the past two quarters, the SWS noted, after it worsened by a total of 6.4 points from the near record-low 9.5 percent in June 2017 to 15.9 percent in December 2017.
Across geographical regions, hunger rose in all areas, with 17.7 percent, or an estimated 1.8 million families in Balance Luzon saying that they have gone hungry—the highest in the country.
This is followed by 15.3 percent, or an estimated 802,000 families in Mindanao; 14.7 percent, or an estimated 457,000 families in Metro Manila; and 13.3 percent or an estimated 589,000 families in the Visayas.
The latest survey, fielded among 1,200 adults nationwide, had sampling error margins of ±2.5 percent for national percentages.