Hunger survey: Palace admits RP affected by global crisis

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday acknowledged that the country suffered from economic downturn during the past few months, causing hunger to reach a new peak nationwide. In a chance interview, Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo, however, tried to allay public fears, saying all of the government programs are in place to cushion the effects of economic recession. “The administration has strong anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs in place, but the past months have been difficult for us and the President has made it her personal mission to help the poorest among us survive this global financial meltdown," Fajardo said. “The DSWD, for one, will get a P5-billion budget increase to support its pro-poor programs, particularly the 4Ps- Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program- a flagship project of the president which provides subsidies to poor families and is expected to help 321,000 households," she added. The Palace’s remark came following the new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which showed that the national percentage of families experiencing hunger rose to nearly a quarter of all households. SWS said that this month’s 23.7 percent finding, or a figure almost equivalent to 4.3 million families, surpassed the previous record of 21.5 percent recorded in September 2007 and was 11 points higher than the 10-year average of 12.6 percent. The December 2008 score is also five points higher than the 18.4 percent posted last September. The findings put this year’s hunger average at 18.5 percent, up from last year’s 17.9 percent. SWS also noted that hunger has been in double-digit territory since June 2004. A National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) official, however, expressed doubts over the findings, pointing to government efforts to eradicate hunger and provide employment to the poor. - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV