Malacañang said it would review the government's data on hunger rates following a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed an increase in Filipinos experiencing hunger.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after the SWS survey showed that 27.2 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months, the highest since the record high of 30.7 percent during the Covid-19 pandemic in September 2020.

In a press briefing on Monday, March 31, the Palace Press Officer said the government would study the findings.

"Aaralin po 'yan dahil po sa bagong report po ng DSWD, marami na po kasing programa na talaga po ang pantawid-gutom,” (That will be studied because according to the new report from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, there are already many programs addressing hunger)," she said.

Among these programs is a food assistance program that benefits 300,000 households or 1.5 million individuals nationwide.

"Sila po ay binibigyan ng P3,000 na halaga ng mga pera, P3,000 as food aid (They are given P3,000 in cash, P3,000 as food aid)," Castro said.

Other initiatives are the Walang Gutom Kitchen in Pasay City, which provides free hot meals to families, particularly children and street dwellers, and the Walang Gutom Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge, which aims to improve public nutrition. The Walang Gutom project provides eligible families with P3,000 in monthly food credits through electronic benefit transfers.

With these, Castro said the government will analyze where the hunger reports are coming from and identify and address any shortcomings in the assistance programs.

"Aaralin po natin kung saan ang gagaling itong mga sinasabi na nagugutom pa ang ibang mga kababayan natin at para malaman natin kung saang lugar ito (We will study where these reports of hunger are coming from and determine in which areas they exist)," she said.

"Kung meron mang pagkukulang ay maibsan po natin ang ganitong klaseng mga sitwasyon po (If there are any shortcomings, we will work to alleviate these kinds of situations)," she added.

Meanwhile, Castro also addressed suggestions to suspend financial aid programs like the AKAP (Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program) due to concerns that this might be used by local candidates this election season. According to Castro, suspending such a program would be difficult.

“Mahirap po kasing ihinto ang pagpibigay ng ayuda sa mga taong bayan. Umaasa rin po sila diyan (It is difficult to stop providing aid to the people. They depend on it)," she said.

"Mas marami siguro mga kababayan natin ang mag-aalma, lalo na kung nasanay na po silang kumuha ng ganitong ayuda para po ipangtawid sa pang araw-araw nilang pangangailangan (Perhaps more people will complain, especially if they’ve grown accustomed to receiving this kind of assistance to help meet their daily needs)," she added.