Metro Manila, Philippines – More Filipino families considered themselves poor and experienced hunger in the second quarter of the year, even as the share of families identifying as “food-poor” declined, according to a recent survey by OCTA Research.
Self-rated poverty rose by four percentage points, climbing from 35% in March to 39% in July 2026. This translates to an increase from approximately 9.2 million to 10.3 million families—representing roughly 1.1 million additional households that considered themselves poor compared to the previous quarter.
The surge in self-rated poverty was primarily driven by regions outside the National Capital Region (NCR). While self-rated poverty declined in NCR, it increased across Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Among major geographic areas, Mindanao recorded the highest rate of self-rated poverty, followed by the Visayas, Balance Luzon, and NCR. The survey also noted that the economic burden fell substantially heavier on lower-income households.
Parallel to the rise in poverty, the proportion of families who experienced hunger rose from 17% in March to 21% in July—equivalent to a jump from 4.5 million to 5.6 million families.
This represents an estimated 1.1 million additional families who experienced involuntary hunger—going without food at least once—during the three months preceding the survey. Most reported hunger episodes were occasional, with the majority of affected families stating it occurred only once.
Balance Luzon recorded the highest hunger incidence, followed by NCR, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Despite the upticks in poverty and hunger, self-rated food poverty moved in the opposite direction. The proportion of families considering themselves food-poor dropped by three percentage points, from 31% in March to 28% in July (down from 8.1 million to 7.4 million families).
Mindanao registered the highest share of food-poor families, while NCR recorded the lowest.
Among families identifying as food-poor, the median monthly food budget they deemed necessary to escape food poverty remained flat at ₱10,000. However, the median self-rated “food gap”—the additional amount needed per month to reach that threshold—increased from ₱4,000 to ₱5,000 between the first and second quarters.
“Overall, the Q2 results underscore that improvements in food poverty perceptions do not necessarily translate into fewer hunger experiences,” OCTA Research noted in its report.
The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult Filipinos aged 18 and above from July 4 to 11, 2026.
