Research group IBON said that involuntary hunger doubled under the Marcos Jr administration due to its failure to ensure higher wages and low prices. “The rise in hunger is a wakeup call that many Filipinos are struggling on meager incomes and the high cost of living. This shows government’s rhetoric of economic gains and a robust jobs market is empty — just like the bellies of millions of hungry Filipinos,” said the group.

The number of Filipinos experiencing involuntary hunger has more than doubled since the start of the Marcos Jr administration – from 11.6% or some 2.9 million families in June 2022 to 27.2% or 7.5 million families in March 2025, according to Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey data.

IBON stressed that persistent low incomes and high prices are likely behind this rise in hunger. The group estimates that, nationwide, the average daily minimum wage of Php469 falls way below the Php1,227 family living wage needed by a family of five, as of February 2025. An indirect indicator of low incomes is the number of households without savings in any form increasing to 20.1 million households, or 74% of the total, in the fourth quarter of 2024, based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data. Meanwhile, the overall price level of food has increased by 16% between June 2022 and February 2025, according to inflation data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.