Malacañang said that the high number of Filipinos claiming that they have experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months only highlighted the importance of reopening the economy despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that some 5.2 million families experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months.

Of the 1,555 adult Filipinos surveyed, 20.9 percent said they experienced hunger due to "lack of food to eat," higher than the 16.7 percent recorded in May.

In a statement, Roque said the Palace was saddened about the result of the survey which came out on Wednesday. However, he said this only showed that it was important to reopen the economy already.

"The SWS survey underscores the importance of opening the economy and providing livelihood opportunities to our people," he said.

The Palace official advised the public to strictly observe minimum public health standards to protect themselves from the disease while the government intensifies its COVID-19 response while reopening the economy.

"We, therefore, call on our citizens that in order to save the economy and people’s jobs, we first have to save lives by ramping up testing for COVID-19 and observing the minimum public health standards by wearing masks, washing hands and keeping a safe distance," he said.

Factors

Roque, however, noted the different factors that may have contributed to the increase in the number of Filipino families that experienced hunger in the past three months.

He said the survey was conducted from July 3 to 6 when many areas in the country were still under general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ.

"Many lost their jobs during the pandemic. The resumption of public transportation was calibrated and phased. The economy had only started to open. These factors contributed to the respondents saying they experienced hunger," he said.

Roque said this was particularly true in the Visayas where hunger incidence, based on the survey, was highest at 27.2 percent. Cebu City was still under the highest form of quarantine during the time the survey was conducted.

The Visayas was followed by Mindanao at 24.2 percent, Balance Luzon at 17.8 percent, and Metro Manila at 16.3 percent.