Palace: Gov't to double its effort to address hunger, poverty

Malacañang vowed on Sunday that the government would double its efforts to continuously address hunger and poverty in the country.

“We take note of the latest Social Weather Stations survey. This figure is lower compared to the 16 percent of families who had the same experience in the last quarter of 2020,” acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.

Results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey taken from December 12 to 16, 2021, showed that 11.8% of Filipino families experienced being hungry in the last quarter of 2021.

The SWS found that the number of Filipino households that experienced hunger in the last quarter of 2021 was higher than the 10 percent or estimated 2.5 million families recorded in 2021's third quarter.

However, the figure was lower than the 16.8% in May 2021 and 13.6% in June 2021.

Andanar said the Palace considered the figures as a clear indication of the positive impact of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger's programs.

President Rodrigo Duterte created the task force through Executive Order No. 101 last January 2020.

Andanar, meanwhile, pointed to the task force’s initiatives, including the creation of the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty; pilot feeding programs under the First 1000 Days of Life; launching of Pilipinas Kontra Gutom; formulation of the Philippine Multi-sectoral Nutrition Project Proposal for the World Bank; Gulayan sa Barangay at sa Pamayanan programs; and various livelihood projects aimed at uplifting the lives of farmers and fisherfolk.

“We have done much during this challenging time but we underscore that much more needs to be done to continuously address hunger and poverty,” Andanar added. — DVM, GMA News