The government has promised to step up efforts to reduce hunger incidence in the country after a survey showed that more Filipinos experienced hunger in the last three months.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the government has only been in power for only six months and must still address “long-standing economic backlogs.”
“It’s a gentle reminder that the government needs to continue to work double time to implement socio-economic reforms,” Abella said in a Palace news conference.
A Social Weather Stations survey conducted last December showed that 3.1 million or 13.9 percent of the 1,500 respondents experienced hunger at least once in the last quarter of 2016. The poll result was higher than the 10.6 percent or 2.4 million families recorded in September 2016.
Abella attributed the higher incidence of involuntary hunger to the “food price inflation” driven upwards by recent weather disturbances and the seasonal demand of food items during the Christmas holidays.
He assured that “inclusive prosperity” remains part of the President’s agenda. “It also admitted that there’s a lot of groundwork to be done, considering the fact that the administration is new. However, all efforts are being poured towards this.” (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
