Palace on hunger rate drop: ‘The best is yet to come’

MANILA, Philippines – “The best is yet to come,” Malacañang said Thursday, after a recent survey showed that hunger incidence among Filipinos dropped in December 2018, the lowest since 2003.

A Social Weather Station (SWS) survey conducted on December 2018 but released on Wednesday showed that 10.5 percent or an estimated 2.4 million families suffered from involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.

This was 2.8 points lower than 13.4 percent or an estimated 3.1 million families recorded in September the same year.

READ: SWS: Hunger drops in fourth quarter of 2018

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace was “pleased that the 2018 average hunger rate, as per the polling firm, is the lowest figure recorded in 15 years.”

Panelo noted that “positive development is consistent with the earlier survey result showing a decrease among Filipino families who consider themselves as “mahirap.”

“The Palace considers the improvement experienced by the survey participants in relation to their economic status as among the paramount reasons why PRRD continues to win the trust and approval of the Filipino people,” he said.

“The President’s sincere endeavors, whether in taming inflation or running the bureaucracy, have started to bear fruits,” he added.

He cited that that the economy under the first two years of the Duterte presidency, which averages 6.6 percent, “is now the highest level of growth compared to the first two years of all previous post-Edsa administrations.”

“We are enthusiastic to witness our nation finally enter the upper-middle income country status this year, as per the Department of Finance,” he said.

“The best is yet to come, as the Chief Executive continues to work double time in the remainder of his term to uplift more Filipino families out of poverty and hunger, towards a more comfortable and prosperous life for all,” he added.  /muf