(Eagle News)–Over 3 million families experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months, a Social Weather Stations survey said.
The Third Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, conducted from September 15-23, 2018, said the estimated 3.1 million families translate to a 13.3% quarterly hunger rate.
The SWS said this was 3.9 points above the 9.4% quarterly hunger in June 2018.
Hunger in Metro Manila, the SWS said, was at 17.3% (est. 549,000 families), in Balance Luzon at 12.7% (est. 1.3 million families), the Visayas at 6.0% (est. 269,000 families), and Mindanao at 18.3% (est. 975,000 families).
It said quarterly hunger rose by 4.3 points in Metro Manila, from 13.0% (est. 412,000 families) in June 2018 to 17.3% in September 2018
Quarterly hunger increased by 5.4 points in Balance Luzon, from 7.3% (est. 758,000 families) in June, and in Mindanao, from 11.3% (est. 604,000 families) in June to 18.3% in September.
In the Visayas, quarterly hunger fell by 3.3 points, from 9.3% (est. 419,000 families) in June to 6.0% in September.
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 600 in Balance Luzon, and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Sampling error margins are pegged at ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.