Filipino families who went hungry in the first quarter of 2018 numbered 2.3 million, equivalent to a rate of 9.9 percent, dipping from the previous quarter by six points, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) report showed.
This was only the second time hunger had been in the single-digit range since March 2004, the first being the 9.5-percent rate in June 2017.
In last 3 months
The SWS asked the respondents in Filipino: “In the last three months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and did not have anything to eat?”
Those who answered in the affirmative were further asked: “Did it happen ‘only once,’ ‘a few times,’ ‘often’ or ‘always?’”
The SWS classified experiencing hunger “only once” or “a few times” as “moderate hunger,” while going hungry “often” or “always” was rated as “severe hunger.”
Those who said they experienced “moderate hunger” was 8.6 percent in March, down from 12.2 percent in December while those who claimed they experienced “severe hunger” was 1.3 percent from 3.7 percent.
The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adult respondents nationwide and a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. —Inquirer Research