By Earl Jed Roque/PNA
MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday welcomed the recent survey which showed a significant drop in the hunger rate among Filipinos in the fourth quarter of 2018, as it hailed President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s efforts that “have started to bear fruits”.
“The Palace considers the improvement experienced by the survey participants in relation to their economic status as among the paramount reasons why PRRD continues to win the trust and approval of the Filipino people,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
The Philippines is poised to enter the upper-middle income country status this 2019, Panelo said, citing the Department of Finance (DOF).
Panelo noted that economic growth rate of 6.6 percent under the Duterte administration is the highest in the first two years of all post-EDSA administrations.
“The best is yet to come, as the Chief Executive continues to work double time in the remainder of his term to uplift more Filipino families out of poverty and hunger, towards a more comfortable and prosperous life for all,” he said.
The hunger rate in the Philippines has significantly dropped in the fourth quarter of 2018, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.
The survey showed that 10.5 percent experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, a significant drop from the 13.3 percent experiencing hunger in the September 2018 survey.
The hunger rate for 2018 is at 10.8 percent and is the lowest since the seven percent hunger rate recorded in 2003.
The 2018 hunger rate is also significantly lower than the 12.3 hunger rate recorded in 2017.
