黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Gabriela Women鈥檚 Party on Sunday called for urgent economic relief amid an alarming rise in hunger rates across the country, which disproportionately affects women and children in low-income households.

Rep. Arlene Brosas made the call following the latest Social Weather Stations survey, which revealed that 27.2 percent of Filipino families鈥攁round 7.5 million individuals鈥攅xperienced involuntary hunger in March.

READ: Hunger among Filipinos hits new high in Q4 2024 鈥� SWS survey

鈥淭he shocking 27.2 percent hunger rate revealed by the latest SWS survey represents millions of Filipino families, particularly women and children, going to bed hungry. This is the direct result of the government鈥檚 continued implementation of anti-poor economic policies in the midst of a worsening crisis,鈥� she said, as quoted in a press release.

The lady lawmaker also pointed out that women bear the brunt of economic hardship, as they struggle to feed their families amid rising food prices and stagnant wages.

鈥淎ng mga kababaihan ang unang nagtitiis kapag walang makain ang pamilya. Sila ang pumipila sa mumong pa-ayuda, sila ang nag-iisip kung paano paghahati-hatiin ang kakarampot na budget para sa pagkain ng buong pamilya,鈥� she lamented.

(Women are the first to endure hardships when the family has nothing to eat. They are the ones who line up for small aid distributions, and they are the ones who figure out how to divide the meager budget to feed the whole family.)

She also emphasized the direct link between hunger and child malnutrition, adding that the Philippines still has one of the highest stunting rates in Southeast Asia.

鈥淗unger today means stunted future for our children. The rising hunger rate will inevitably worsen our already critical child malnutrition problem, with long-term consequences for the nation鈥檚 health and productivity,鈥� Brosas said.

With that, the women鈥檚 party urged the administration to promptly implement concrete measures to address the hunger crisis, such as scrapping the Value Added Tax on essential food items and raising the national minimum wage to P1,200.

鈥淜ailangan ng mamamayan ng agarang kaluwagan, hindi ng mga pangakong walang katuparan. The government must scrap the VAT on basic food items now and legislate a P1,200 national minimum wage to help families cope with the skyrocketing prices,鈥� she said.

(The people need immediate relief, not empty promises. The government must remove the VAT on basic food items now and enact a P1,200 national minimum wage to help families cope with soaring prices.)

鈥淭he continuous rise in hunger rates from January to March shows that the so-called economic growth is just a half-baked promise. While the administration boasts of macroeconomic gains, Filipino families are being left to scrape the bottom of the barrel. This is the clearest indictment of the government鈥檚 failed economic policies鈥� she concluded.