AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee reiterated his call for the government to focus on interventions to curb food inflation, after a survey revealed more Filipinos families had experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months.
“Hindi po nakapagtataka na mas maraming mga kababayan natin ang nagugutom dahil patuloy pa rin ang pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain,” Lee said.
Lee urged the government to immediately add more Kadiwa centers to make affordable food accessible to more consumers.
“Patuloy mang bumababa ang inflation rate natin, hindi ito mararamdaman ng ordinaryong mamamayan hangga’t di natin gagawing mas abot-kaya ang presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin lalong-lalo na sa pagkain at inumin, partikular na sa bigas at gulay,” he stressed.
The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed 10.4 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger, up from the previous 9.8 percent in March. SWS defines involuntary hunger as being hungry and not having anything to eat.
SWS said the 10.4 percent hunger rate in June 2023 was the sum of 2.1 percent who experienced severe hunger and 8.3 percent who experienced moderate hunger.
Lee had earlier said the government must aggressively address factors contributing to food inflation or it will be unable to hit its 2.9 percent inflation target in 2024.
The Bicolano lawmaker noted that food and non-alcoholic beverages were the biggest contributors to the 5.4 percent inflation rate in June.
“Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed almost half, or 47.3 percent, to inflation. While the downward trend of overall inflation was primarily influenced by the slower increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.7 percent in June 2023, down from 7.4 percent in the previous month, we should be concerned that in terms of food groups, the inflation rates of rice and vegetables continue to rise,” he said.
Lee urged the government to immediately add more Kadiwa centers to make affordable food accessible to more consumers.
However, he stressed that policy changes need to be institutionalized to increase agricultural productivity and lower rice and vegetable prices.
“Kailangan natin ng mga permanenteng solusyon para mapababa ang presyo ng pagkain katulad ng karagdagang post-harvest facilities at mga batas na magpapadali at magpapabilis sa transportasyon ng mga produktong agrikultural mula sakahan hanggang hapag-kainan. Kapag busog ang ating mga tiyan at walang nagugutom, may lakas tayong harapin hindi lang ang mga personal kundi pati pambansang hamon, at magiging Winner Tayo Lahat,” he said.
