As the government keeps boasting of decreasing inflation, it cannot turn a blind eye to the increasing number of Filipinos who are experiencing involuntary hunger – a major contradiction.
This, as a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group showed that the number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months increased to 27.2 percent. This is higher than the 25.9 percent logged in December last year.
Involuntary hunger is defined as “being hungry and not having anything to eat.”
Furthermore, the commissioned SWS survey, conducted from March 15 to 20, 2025, showed that that hunger rate in March was 6 points higher than 21.2 percent logged in February.
When it comes to regions, the Visayas logged the highest involuntary hunger incidence.
“Compared to February 2025, the incidence of hunger rose by 13.7 points from 20.0 percent in the Visayas, 4.9 points from 19.1 percent in Balance Luzon, and 4.0 points from 23.3 percent in Mindanao. However, it hardly moved from 27.3 percent in Metro Manila,” the SWS survey said.
LOWER INFLATION AN IRONY
What surprises, however, is inflation has been on downtrend this year, reaching a five-year low of 1.8 percent in March.
The March 2025 inflation rate is also lower than the 2.1 percent recorded in February, which the government attributed to the substantial decrease in rice prices from the imposition of lesser tariff on imported rice in July 2024.
PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said rice prices have decreased by around P3 to P5 per kilograms (kg) between July 2024 and March 2025.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that the government’s measures against inflation were effective.
“The continued decline in inflation indicates the effectiveness of the government’s proactive measures to stabilize prices and protect the purchasing power of Filipino households,” he said.
“While the inflation rate continues to ease and remain within the target range, we commit to monitoring risks and shocks, particularly on anticipated electricity rate hikes and higher prices of fish and meat, and addressing them through timely and targeted interventions,” Balisacan added.
However, the fact that involuntary hunger is increasing is definitely disturbing amid lowering inflation, pointing to one factor that the government has failed to address: income inequality.
That issue has hardly been discussed in government foras and conventions, and is not a major issue being raised during this campaign period.
Surely, it will be very interesting to see what the next hunger survey will reveal.
