The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Tracy Cabrera
More than 11 million Filipino households, or 20% of families nationwide, experienced involuntary hunger in the first quarter of 2025, according to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Conducted from April 23 to 28, the survey found that one in every five families went hungry at least once between January and March.
The figure marks a slight increase from the 19.1% recorded in early April, though it remains significantly lower than the 27.2% reported in March and close to the 2024 average of 20.2%.
The SWS survey revealed that 16.4% of families reported experiencing moderate hunger—defined as going hungry “only once” or “a few times” over the past three months. This was up from 15.2% earlier in April but down from 21% in March.
Meanwhile, 3.6% of respondents said they suffered severe hunger, or hunger felt “often” or “always” in the last quarter, slightly lower than 3.9% in early April and a notable drop from 6.2% in March.
Hunger incidence was highest in Mindanao at 26.3%, followed by Metro Manila at 20.3%, the Visayas at 19.7%, and the rest of Luzon at 17%.
Consistent with previous SWS findings, hunger continued to be more prevalent among poor families, with 25.9% reporting food insecurity, compared to just 14.1% among non-poor households.