The latest SWS survey showed that some 7.6 million families experienced hunger in the past three months.
“That’ sad news, though I’m almost sure that’s because the pandemic forced us to shut down the economy,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in an interview.
“The only guarantee for us to decrease the hunger incidence is to open up the economy so that many Filipinos can return to work since cash aid, as we know, is only temporary.”
Roque also noted that the government will continue to extend assistance to the public through various programs under the recently passed Bayanihan (Cooperation) to Recover As One Act.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the Philippines has surpassed 300,000 with over 5,300 deaths and more than 250,000 recoveries.
The recorded high incidence of hunger comes as the country nears its seventh month of being under community quarantine.
