Hunger numbers: Palace sees poll as glass half-full

Press Undersecretary Abigail Valte INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Malacañang on Tuesday preferred a glass-half-full interpretation of the Social Weather Stations’ (SWS)  most recent hunger survey, comparing it with a separate, more favorable previous SWS survey.

The latest SWS hunger survey, conducted from December 3 to 7 2011, indicated hunger incidence going up by one percent from the previous survey conducted in September 2011.

The SWS said 4.5 million families went hungry in the last quarter of 2011, up by some 400,000 families from the previous quarter.

But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the two hunger surveys were “statistically identical.”

She said the more favorable September 2011 SWS survey showed self-rated poverty going down to just 45 percent in December, from 52 percent in the previous survey.

“The recent Social Weather Stations survey taken on Dec. 3 to 7, 2011 showed that self-rated hunger was statistically identical to the results of the September 2011 survey,” Valte said in the day’s news briefing in Malacañang.

“Combined with the noticeable decrease in self-rated poverty from 52 percent to 45 percent based on the SWS 4th quarter survey (Dec. 3 to 7, 2011), this indicates that policies to promote inclusive growth are beginning to take effect,” she said.

Valte said the Aquino administration continues to aggressively pursue programs meant to address the needs of vulnerable sectors by expanding the coverage of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program with a budget of P39.5 billion.