The Palace said on Thursday that the subsequent calamities which have struck the Philippines are to blame for the rise in hungry Filipino families.

According to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), families who experienced “involuntary hunger,” or hunger due to lack of access to food, a number of times in the past three months climbed to 22 percent in the third quarter of 2025.

In a report by RH 14 Leth Narciso, this figure is almost six points higher than the 16.1 percent of families who went hungry last June 2025.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the administration is continually working to reduce incidences of hunger and poverty. However, calamities which have come one after the other, from storms to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, have affected government efforts to alleviate hunger.

“Huwag po natin kalimutan na sunud-sunod ang kalamidad na naranasan ng mga kababayan po natin – nakaapekto po ito sa patuloy po na pagtatrabaho ng ating pamahalaan lalong-lalo na po ang DSWD para po maipababa ang hunger rate ng bansa,” she told the media.

Castro said that such surveys were nonetheless helpful in corroborating government data. She added that the Walang Gutom Program, Special Feeding Program, and other programs have not ceased operations.