The new figures are lower than the SWS data for September 2018 on involuntary hunger experienced by 13.3 percent or an estimated 3.3 million families at that time.

President Rodrigo Duterte inspires ASEAN leaders to speed up the Code of Conduct on West Philippine Sea and in turn was inspired in the company of partner Honeylet Avanceña. AFP

Malacañang on Sunday viewed the new numbers showing fewer families claiming to have experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months as encouraging.

This also prompted Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles to declare the new data showing a 4.2 percent year-on-year decline in the number of families that have experienced involuntary hunger “as a sign of government policies meeting their desired objectives.”

The data was released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) based on a survey conducted from 27 to 30 September.

The SWS recorded 9.1 percent, or an estimated 2.3 million families, experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months. The survey firm defined involuntary hunger as “hunger experienced by a family due to lack of food to eat.”

According to Nograles, the new figures are lower than the SWS data for September 2018 on involuntary hunger experienced by 13.3 percent or an estimated 3.3 million families at that time.

“That is one million fewer families suffering from hunger, a number that we want to further improve with programs like the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) — an initiative we are convinced will help the Philippines eventually say #GoodbyeGutom,” Nograles said.

The Palace official said EPAHP’s objective is to help mitigate hunger, ensure food and nutrition security, and reduce poverty in urban and rural communities, including the marginalized communities.

Nograles credited the Duterte economic team led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III “spearheading the economic reforms and initiatives that contributed to these positive developments,” especially in the decrease on the number of families experiencing involuntary hunger.

Nograles also credited the economic team for lowering inflation.

He said when inflation hit 6.7 percent in September 2018, the economic team expressed belief that inflation would drop following the enactment of reforms, like the rice tariffication law.

“And they were right as inflation in September 2019 was at 0.9 percent, the slowest it has been in three years.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said contributing to the downtrend in the inflation during the month of September was the 0.9 percent annual rate of decrease in the index of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages.

The PSA noted that there were annual decreases in the indices of rice at 8.9 percent; corn, 4.1 percent; vegetables, 4.7 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, 4.1 percent.

At the same time, annual markups were slower in the following food groups: other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products, 3.0 percent; meat, 2.4 percent; fish, 1.4 percent; oils and fats, 1.2 percent; and food products, not elsewhere classified, 6.3 percent.

Nograles stressed that keeping the prices of food staples like rice “is crucial in efforts to address hunger.”

“Cheaper food allows families to put more food on the table. We believe that a combination of these economic reforms and proactive hunger-reduction programs like our school-feeding initiatives will do much to ensure that fewer of our countrymen have to suffer from hunger.”

Nograles reiterated that keeping the prices of food staples like rice “is crucial in efforts to address hunger.”