Residents of Bgy. 105 in Tondo, Manila redeem food items from the Kadiwa Market set up by the Department of Agriculture in line with the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program on May 28, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured the public that the government is prioritizing food programs as Self-Rated Food Poverty among Filipinos climbed to 51 percent, the agency said on Saturday. 

In a news forum, Social Welfare Undersecretary Edu Punay described the figure as "alarming." 

"This is obviously a cause of alarm, since the administration of President Bongbong [Marcos] came, we acted upon, we started implementing programs," Punay said. 

"Bago pa tumaas ang mga numero na yan ay nasimulan na natin ang mga programa para labanan ang gutom sa mga bansa – 2022, 2023, may mga program na tayo para labanan ang gutom," he added. 

Punay highlighted DSWD's wide-scale projects targeting hunger, such as opening the country's first food bank dubbed "Walang Gutom Kitchen" and its food stamp program. 

READ: DSWD opens food bank

READ: DSWD eyes more POGO hubs as food banks in fight to 'end hunger' by 2027

Aside from these, the official said the government also has supplementary feeding programs to students.  

"Nakikita naman natin talaga this is a priority program, talagang binubuhos ng pamahalaan ang resources para siguraduhin na nakakakain ang pamilyang Pilipino. At least two times a day man lang. It is our obligation to provide food to them because it is a basic, fundamental right," Punay said.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS)  said that based on its December 2024 survey, the percentage of families who saw themselves as poor reached 63 percent, up 4 points from 59 percent in September 2024.

Self-Rated Food Poverty also climbed to 51 percent, up 5 points from 46 percent in September 2024 and June 2024, SWS said. 

The 5-point rise  was due to increases in the Visayas, Mindanao, and Balance Luzon, combined with a steady percentage in Metro Manila, according to the SWS. 

"As of December 2024, Self-Rated Food Poverty stayed highest in Mindanao at 68 percent, followed by the Visayas at 61 percent, Balance Luzon at 42 percent, and Metro Manila at 39 percent," SWS said.