SWS: 3.4 M families experienced hunger

MANILA, Philippines – More Filipino families claimed to have experienced hunger at least once in the last three months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The survey, conducted from Nov. 27 to 30, 2010, found 18.1 percent, or about 3.4 million families, saying they experienced hunger or having nothing to eat in the past three months, higher than the 15.9 percent, or about three million families, recorded in September last year.

As this developed, Malacañang said it is expecting to reduce the incidences of hunger in the country once the P21-billion conditional cash transfer program is implemented.

SWS noted that the new figure was four points higher than the 12-year average of 13.7 percent, but still far from the record high 24 percent in December 2009. The record low is 7.4 percent recorded in March 2004.

Meanwhile, the poll also showed some 9.2 million families, or 49 percent of Filipinos who considered themselves poor, had barely changed from 48 percent in September.

Further, those who considered themselves food-poor declined from 38 percent to 36 percent, or about 6.7 million households.

The survey research institution attributed the rise in overall hunger to the two-point increase in moderate hunger to 15 percent, or an estimated 2.8 million families. Moderate hunger refers to those who experience hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months.

SWS said those who did not state their frequency of hunger are included in this category.

Severe hunger, which refers to those who experience it “often” or “always,” remained at 3.1 percent or 588,000 families, the pollster said.

SWS said overall hunger rose in all areas except in the Visayas, where it stayed at 15.3 percent.

Statistics show hunger rose by nearly four points in the balance of Luzon to 18.3 percent, almost two points in Mindanao to 18 percent and a point in Metro Manila, to 21.7 percent.

Also, SWS said moderate hunger worsened in all geographical areas: to 16 percent from 13.3 percent in Mindanao, 14.7 percent from 12.3 percent in the balance of Luzon, to 17.7 percent from 15.7 percent in Metro Manila and to 12.7 percent from 11.7 percent in the Visayas.

Severe hunger, on the other hand, rose by over one point to 3.7 percent in the rest of Luzon, but fell in Mindanao (two percent) and the Visayas (2.7 percent). It fell by nearly one point in Metro Manila, to four percent, it said.

Of note, the latest moderate and severe hunger scores are higher than their 12-year averages in all areas, the SWS said.

Self-rated poverty, meanwhile, declined by nine points in Mindanao to 44 percent, by eight points in the Visayas to 53 percent and by five points in Metro Manila to 44 percent. It, however, rose by 11 points in the balance of Luzon to 51 percent.

It also fell by one point in urban areas to 42 percent and was unchanged at 55 percent in rural areas.

Self-rated food poverty, meanwhile, dropped by 13 points in Metro Manila to 28 percent, by 11 points in the Visayas to 39 percent and by two points in Mindanao to 34 percent. It, however, increased by six points to 38 percent in the rest of Luzon.

Results of the SWS survey were published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday.

SWS said the self-rated poverty threshold, or the monthly budget poor households say they need in order not to consider themselves generally poor, remained sluggish despite considerable inflation – an indication of belt-tightening.

As of November last year, the median poverty thresholds for poor households were P15,000 in Metro Manila, P9,000 in the rest of Luzon, P8,000 in the Visayas and P5,000 in Mindanao.

The median food-poverty threshold, meanwhile, hit a new high of P9,000 in Metro Manila, breaking the previous P8,000 record. It was at P4,000 for both the rest of Luzon and the Visayas, and at P3,000 in Mindanao.

In Metro Manila, the median poverty threshold of P15,000 was barely above P10,000 in 2000, even though the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had risen by over 60 percent. The P15,000 is equivalent to only P9,096 in terms of 2000 purchasing power and is a throwback to living standards 15 years ago, the SWS said.

SWS said households had tightened their budgets by P1,490, the difference between the November 2010 median poverty threshold of P15,000 and the P16,490 equivalent – using the CPI of 164.9 – of the 2010 threshold.

Metro Manila’s median food poverty threshold of P9,000, meanwhile, is equivalent to only P5,729 in terms of 2000 purchasing power, the SWS noted.

Subtracting the first figure from the CPI-adjusted equivalent – P9,426 – of December 2000’s P6,000 yields a belt-tightening of P426, it said.

The SWS poll used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. Error margins of three percentage points for national, and six percentage points for area percentages, were applied in the survey.

* No bearing yet

In the meantime, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the effect of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which could ease hunger incidences throughout the country, has not been felt yet because the program was only recently implemented.

Lacierda disclosed Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman had traveled throughout the country, except for two municipalities, to complete the validation of the master list of CCT beneficiaries.

Now that the budget has been approved, the DSWD will proceed with the CCT, allowing the poverty and hunger situation throughout the country to ease, Lacierda said.

“We are verifying the report on hunger incidences with the National Economic and Development Authority” but the hunger and poverty picture will change and will ease when the CCT begins, Lacierda said. –-Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) with Aurea Calica