The number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months grew to 22%, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS).
SWS defined involuntary hunger as being hungry and not having anything to eat.
Conducted from September 24 to 30, 2025, the survey found that hunger during this month was 5.9 points higher than 16.1% in June 2025 and 20% up from April 23 to 28, 2025.
SWS said the 20.2% average in 2025 was the same as in 2024 and 0.9 points below the record-high 21.1% average in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The highest hunger percentage was logged in Metro Manila with 25.7%, followed by Balance Luzon at 23.8%, Mindanao at 19.7%, and the Visayas at 18.7%.
The survey also revealed that hunger rose by 5.9 points between June and September 2025, driven by increases across all areas except the Visayas.
Of the families who experienced hunger, 16% had moderate hunger, while 5.2% had severe hunger.
“Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger ‘only once” or ‘a few times’ in the last three months. Meanwhile, severe hunger refers to those who experienced it ‘often’ or ‘always’ in the previous three months,” the SWS survey said.
It also showed that modern hunger rose by 3.9 points, while severe hunger went up by 1.9 points compared to June 2025.
Hunger in poor, non-poor families
The September 2025 survey also found that 41% of Filipino families rated themselves as food-poor, 11% consider themselves food-borderline, and 47% view themselves as not food-poor.
In another survey, SWS showed that 50%, or half, of Filipino families consider themselves poor.
“Hunger occurs at different rates among the poor and the non-poor. At any single point in time, hunger is usually higher among the poor,” the SWS survey said.
“From quarter to quarter, however, the hunger rates among the poor and the non-poor may change, either upward or downward. Hunger is highest among the food-poor,” it added.
The total hunger rate among self-rated poor families increased from 21.0% in June 2025 to 26.9% in September 2025.
It also rose from 11.4% to 17.0% among non-poor families.
“Compared to June 2025, the rate of Total Hunger rose among the Self-Rated Food-Poor from 21.3% to 31.5%, and among the Non-Food-Poor (Not Food-Poor plus Borderline Food-Poor) from 12.4% to 15.3%,” the SWS survey said.
The SWS survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,500 Filipino adults.
It has a sampling error margin of ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.—Mariel Celine Serquiña/MCG, GMA Integrated News
