SWS Survey: More Filipino families going hungry

Overall rise slight but intensity has ‘worsened significantly’ — SWS

MORE FILIPINOS ARE GOING HUNGRY amid a backdrop of rising food prices but the increase, despite a first semester scramble for rice, was relatively minimal and is far from historical highs, a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

However, with around 2.9 million Filipino families having experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months, the independent survey research institution said the increase was significant as the number of those saying they frequently had nothing to eat had risen.

The national percentage of 16.3%, it added, remained above a 10-year average.

Hunger in the survey refers to involuntary suffering due to the lack of anything to eat. It was at 15.7% in the first quarter, and 16.2% in the period before that. The historical high is 21.5%, recorded in September 2007, and the ten-year average is 12.1%.

A government official said rising prices of commodities were to blame, and added that the government would continue to implement targetted programs. An economist, meanwhile, said the government needed to look at how such programs were being implemented to ensure that these help the poorest sectors.

The results of the June 27 to 30 survey, made exclusive to BusinessWorld, covered 1,200 household heads nationwide. They were asked "Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nangyari po ba kahit minsan na ang inyong pamilya ay nakaranas ng gutom at wala kayong makain? Kung oo: Nangyari po ba ’yan ng minsan lamang, mga ilang beses, madalas o palagi?" (In the past three months, was there an instance when your family experienced hunger or had nothing to eat? If yes, did it happen only once, a few times, often, or always?).

The margin of error is plus or minus 3% at the national level and plus or minus 6% for regional percentages.

While total hunger rose by a small 0.6 percentage point between March and June, its intensity "worsened significantly" because the share of severe hunger increased, the SWS said.

Severe hunger — experiencing it "often" or "always" in the last three months — rose to 4.2%, equivalent to 760,000 families, in June from 3.2%, or 570,000 families, in March.

"The new figure is one point above the ten-year average severe hunger rate of 3.3%," the SWS said.

Moderate hunger, referring to those who experienced it "only once" or "a few times" in the last three months, declined slightly to 12.1% (about 2.2 million families) from 12.5%. The new figure, however, is four points above the nine-year average of 8.8%. Respondents who did not state their frequency of hunger were included in this category.

Total hunger was at the highest in Metro Manila, up six points to 22% and matching the capital’s record hit in June 2007. The result was also 11 points above the ten-year average of 11.2%.
"Both severe hunger and moderate hunger are now higher in Metro Manila than in other areas," the SWS said.

Moderate hunger in Metro Manila went up to 16% from 10.3%, a result above the ten-year average of 8.1%. Severe hunger rose to 6% from 5.3%, also above the ten-year average of 3%.
In the Visayas, total hunger went up to 19.7% from 12.3%, above the nine-year average of 11.8%. Moderate hunger rose to 16.3% from 11%, also above the ten-year average of 8.6%, while severe hunger rose to 3.3% from 1.3%, similar to the ten-year average of 3.2%.

Total hunger in Mindanao went to 17.7% in June, barely changed from 18% last March. The latest figure, however, was four points above the nine-year average of 14.2%. Hunger in the island was described as having intensified as moderate hunger declined to 13.3% from 15.3% but severe hunger rose to 4.3% from 2.7%.

Gains, meanwhile, were noted in the rest of Luzon where total hunger declined to 12.3% from 16%. The result was one point above the ten-year average of 11.5%.

Moderate hunger in the rest of Luzon declined by four points to 8.3% from 12.3%, slightly lower than the ten-year average of 8.8%. Severe hunger went up slightly to 4% from 3.7%, above the ten-year average of 2.7%.

Asked to comment on the latest hunger survey, Maria Bernardita T. Flores, executive director of the National Nutrition Council, said soaring prices of commodities were to blame.

"I think inflation played a role, especially the higher prices of rice. Even fuel prices jacked up the prices. We have established in our meetings that the result of hunger incidence is sensitive to the prices of food and if salaries don’t increase at the same rate, it would not be enough to buy food," she said in a telephone interview.

Ms. Flores, whose agency oversees the government’s hunger mitigation program, said the figure would have been higher had the government failed to come up with measures to address poverty.

"Now interventions are taking place ... Domestic factors are not the only ones pushing prices but also external factors ... The government is on top of it. While it is true that we cannot do much on factors driven by external factors, we will not stop improving our food production. Our feeding programs are also continuously being implemented" she said.

"The local governments must fast-track the preparation of access cards as well as the list of beneficiaries of cheap rice to be provided by the government."

The government has directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development to come up with access cards to be distributed to the poor. This will allow them to avail of subsidized National Food Authority rice. Local governments have been tasked to provide the national government a master list of poor residents.

Leonor M. Briones, former National Treasurer and now an economist at the University of the Philippines, said the government must rethink its policies and come up with ways to ensure that the poor are really benefiting.

"There are governance issue here ... If we have x amount of money, are we going to place it on subsidies or use it for sustainable programs? Can we sustain it (subsidies)?," she asked.

"Everyone is suffering. We are not just talking about those eating garbage and the jobless but also those with small jobs ... If you resort to one-shot giveaways, you are only taking away from the earners who are also suffering."

Ms. Briones was referring to a government program that seeks to use excess revenues from the value-added tax (VAT) on oil for various subsidies and social services.

Dubbed as "Katas ng VAT," (roughly Fruits of the VAT) the program has so far involved some P8 billion of the VAT "windfall". It includes cash grants to small power users (P3 billion so far), some P2 billion in credit facilities for affected sectors, and even P1 billion in scholarships and student loans.

Officials said the program would allow the government to use VAT collections — the bulk of which are said to be paid by the rich — to fund pro-poor programs. Critics, however, have claimed that these are not sustainable and are merely being used to enhance the President’s image.

Ms. Briones said that while it is necessary to provide immediate relief to the poor, the government should strictly audit its pro-poor programs to ensure that funds are not being lost to corruption. — A. D. B. Romero

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