The proportion of poor Filipino families who experienced total hunger saw a sharp increase from 26.4% in February to 35.6% in March 2025, according to a recent non-commissioned survey by the Stratbase-Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Total hunger—defined as the combined experience of moderate and severe hunger—has been on a steady rise since January 2025, when it was at 22.3% among self-identified poor households.
The survey also noted a slight increase in hunger among non-poor families, climbing from 16.2% in February to 18.3% in March. This figure has also risen consistently since January, when it stood at 10%.
Meanwhile, a separate commissioned SWS survey conducted in March reported that 27.2% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger—defined as being hungry and having nothing to eat—at least once in the past three months. This marked a slight increase from 25.9% in December 2024.
Findings from the same Stratbase-SWS survey revealed a marginal rise in the number of Filipino families who consider themselves poor, from 51% in February to 52% in March. This translates to an estimated increase from 14.3 million to 14.4 million families.
The SWS attributed the 1-point uptick in nationwide self-rated poverty to slight increases in the Visayas and Balance Luzon, which offset small declines in Mindanao and Metro Manila.
Regionally, self-rated poverty remained highest in the Visayas at 62%, followed by Mindanao at 60%, Balance Luzon at 46%, and Metro Manila at 41%.
The share of families identifying as borderline poor slightly declined from 13% in February to 12% in March, continuing a downward trend from 14% in January. Meanwhile, the percentage of households that rated themselves as not poor held steady at a record-high 36% for the third consecutive month.
The Stratbase-SWS survey was conducted from March 15 to 20, 2025, through face-to-face interviews with 1,800 registered voters aged 18 and above across the country. The survey has a sampling margin of error of ±2.31% nationwide, ±3.27% in Balance Luzon, and ±5.66% in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.