The number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger has slightly increased in the past three months, private pollster Social Weather Station (SWS) said.

Based on the SWS survey conducted last March but was only released this week, 14.2 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger and not having anything to eat at least once in the past three months.

The latest figure is 1.6 points higher than the previous quarter last year, which was at 12.6 percent.

"The March 2024 hunger figure was 3.5 points above the 10.7 percent annual hunger rate of 2023, and the highest since 16.8 percent in May 2021," SWS said.

Out of the 14.2 percent of families who experienced hunger, 12.2 percent of the Filipino families faced moderate hunger, while 2 percent endured severe hunger.

Moderate hunger is defined as experiencing hunger "only once" or "a few times" in the last three months.

Severe hunger, on the other hand, refers to those who experienced it "often" or "always" in the previous three months.

Metro Manila experiences highest incidence of involuntary hunger

The survey also revealed that the highest incidence of involuntary hunger is still among families in Metro Manila at 19 percent, up by 6.3 percent from 12.7 percent in December 2023.

Balance Luzon (or the area outside Metro Manila) and Visayas reported hunger rates of 15.3 percent and 15 percent, respectively, marking rises from 9.3 percent and 14.3 percent in December.

However, the hunger rate in Mindanao decreased to 8.7 percent from 12 percent in December.

The survey was conducted from 21 to 25 March through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 individuals aged 18 and above.

The survey had sampling error margins of ±2.5 percent for national percentages, ±4.0 percent for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7 percent for each of Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.