THE number of Filipino families claiming to be food-poor rose to 43 percent of those surveyed in July, or about 11.3 million families, from 35 percent or about 9.2 million families in April, the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey of OCTA Research released on Tuesday showed.
The TNM polls, which involved 1,200 adult respondents and had a margin of error of ±3 percent, was conducted on July 12 to 15, 2025.
Survey results also showed that those claiming to be poor were statistically unchanged at 45 percent in July, or 11.9 million families, from 42 percent, or 11.1 million families, in April.
OCTA Research said the 8-percentage point increase in food poverty may be due to higher food prices, reduced household purchasing power, or changes in access to social assistance.
“The sharp rise in food poverty, despite stable overall poverty levels, suggests more families are finding it difficult to afford food, putting additional pressure on household budgets. Many may still have housing and basic assets, but are cutting back on the quality or quantity of their meals to cope with financial constraints. This could lead to health and nutrition challenges not yet reflected in broader poverty measures,” it said.
It added that that the number of those who said they are not food-poor dropped to 18 percent from 21 percent.
The TNM results showed that majority of those from the Visayas and Mindanao considered their families food- poor, with the highest still in Mindanao at 68 percent (up from 63 percent in April), followed by the Visayas at 50 percent (from 52 percent), Luzon at 34 percent (up from 20 percent) and the National Capital Region (NCR) at 17 percent (from 14 percent).
Among socio-economic classes, those claiming to be food-poor were highest among Class E at 71 percent (up from 64 percent), followed by Class D at 42 percent (up from 32 percent) and Class ABC at 9 percent (down from 22 percent).
At least 27 percent of the respondents also said they needed at least P10,000 a month so their families would not be considered as food poor.
The sentiment is shared by 29 percent of the respondents from the Visayas; 28 percent from Mindanao; 26 percent from Luzon, 23 percent from the NCR; 28 percent of those who belong to Class D; and 26 percent of those who belong to Class E (26 percent).
Class ABC (28 percent) said they needed at least P20,000 a month for food so they would not be considered as food-poor.
State of hunger
OCTA Research also found that 48 percent of Filipinos (from 50 percent) said there was no change in the state of hunger in the country; 40 percent (up from 38 percent) said it was worse; and 10 percent (unchanged) said it was better.
Those who felt that the state of hunger was unchanged was highest in Luzon at 59 percent (down from 66 percent), followed by those in the NCR at 49 percent (up from 42 percent), Visayas at 41 percent (from 43 percent) and Mindanao at 34 percent (up from 29 percent).
Those who said that hunger was worse today was highest in Mindanao at 61 percent (down from 65 percent); followed by those in the Visayas at 45 percent (up from 41 percent); NCR at 41 percent (down from 45 percent); and Luzon at 27 percent (up from 21 percent).
Respondents who considered the state of hunger as better were highest in the Visayas at 14 percent (from 16 percent); Luzon at 10 percent (from 9 percent); NCR at 9 percent (from 12 percent); and Mindanao at 5 percent (from 6 percent).
Stable poverty level
The OCTA Research survey also found that self-rated poverty levels were stable at 45 percent in July, which was statistically unchanged from 42 percent in April; while 16 percent (from 18 percent) said their families were not poor.
Majority of those from Mindanao (63 percent from 61 percent) and the Visayas (59 percent from 60 percent) said their families were poor, while 37 percent (up from 29 percent) of families in Luzon and 23 percent (down from 28 percent) in NCR said they were also poor.
Those who said they were poor were highest among Class E at 71 percent (from 69 percent), followed by those from Class D at 45 percent (up from 39 percent), and class ABC at 11 percent (down from 29 percent).
Nineteen (19) percent of the respondents said their families needed at least P20,000 a month not to be considered as poor.
In the NCR and Mindanao, however, 25 percent and 28 percent of the respondents, respectively, said that they needed P30,000 a month not to be considered as poor; while 26 percent in Luzon said their families needed P20,000 a month. In the Visayas, 17 percent said their families needed P30,000 and 25,000 a month.
For Class E, 30 percent said their families needed P20,000 a month, while 18 percent from Class D, and 17 percent from Class ABC said they needed P30,000 a month not to be called poor.
OCTA Research also found that 47 percent of Filipinos said there was no change in the state of poverty in the country, while 41 percent said that poverty was worse than before (both unchanged from April). Eleven percent said it was better (from 9 percent).
Those who felt that the state of poverty was unchanged was highest in Luzon at 57 percent (down from 62 percent), followed by those from NCR at 45 percent (up from 39 percent), Visayas at 40 percent (up from 36 percent) and Mindanao at 33 percent (up from 29 percent).
The number of those who claimed that poverty was worse was highest in Mindanao at 61 percent (down from 66 percent), followed by NCR and the Visayas at 44 percent (down from 50 percent and up from 47 percent, respectively), and Luzon at 29 percent (up from 25 percent).
Belief that the state of poverty has become better was highest in the Visayas at 15 percent (from 16 percent), followed by Luzon at 12 percent (from 9 percent), NCR at 9 percent (from 10 percent) and Mindanao at 5 percent (unchanged).
