Palace links rise in involuntary hunger to natural calamities

Malacañang attributes the rise in involuntary hunger among Filipino families to 22.9% in September to a series of natural calamities that have struck the country.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro noted that these successive disasters have hindered the government's, particularly the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD), efforts to reduce hunger.

The hunger rate increased from 17.6% in June, with the SWS survey indicating that the jump was largely due to nearly doubled figures in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Castro described surveys like the one from the Social Weather Stations (SWS) as helpful for the government to compare and validate its own data.

She assured that the government continues to work tirelessly to provide assistance to those in need and utilize the survey data to aid in hunger eradication efforts.