Palace blames 12% increase in number of hungry families to oil price hike

FILE PHOTO A man living under the Estero de Vitas bridge eats lunch at his home in Tondo in Manila on July 16, 2017. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday blamed the 12.2 percent increase in the number of hunger Filipino families to the spate of oil price hikes in the first quarter of the year.

The Social Weather Stations earlier reported that some 3.1 million Filipino families experienced hunger in the first quarter of the year.

“Tumaas po ang presyo ng langis sa pandaigdigang merkado dahil sa nangyayari ngayon sa Russia at Ukraine. Kaugnay nito, patuloy nating tinutugunan ang issue ng kagutuman,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar answered in a Palace press briefing when asked where the increase of hungry families may be attributed.

(The price of oil in the world market increased because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In line with this, we continue to address the issue of hunger.)

READ: Putin’s war on Ukraine and impact on PH prices

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, a move that affected the movement of oil products due to the embargo imposed by European and various other countries on Russian oil, which supplies about 10 percent of global requirement.

The persisting oil price hikes have a ripple effect to basic commodities and services, thus, affecting the poor, the Palace said.

However, Andanar tried to downplay the situation, saying there were more hungry Filipino families in the latter part of 2020.

“Bagaman may pagtaas sa bilang ng mga pamilyang Pilipino na nakakaranas ng gutom, mas mababa pa rin ng 12.2 percent ngayong Abril sa 16 percent nung huling bahagi ng 2020,” he said.

(While there is an increase in the number of Filipino families who experience hunger, the 12.2 percent this April is lower than the 16 percent recorded in the latter part of 2020.)

EDV