The number of Filipino households identifying as poor and those experiencing food scarcity increased during the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) study by OCTA Research.
The nationwide poll revealed that 39% of respondents considered their families poor in July, marking a four-percentage-point increase from 35% in March. This jump represents approximately 1.1 million additional families, bringing the national total of self-rated poor households from 9.2 million to 10.3 million.
Involuntary hunger also rose over the same period, with 21% of respondents reporting food shortages in July compared to 17% in March. The shift reflects an increase of roughly 1.1 million affected households, rising from 4.5 million to 5.6 million.
Despite the surge, OCTA noted that hunger episodes were predominantly temporary.
About 87% of affected households indicated experiencing hunger only once or a few times during the quarter, indicating sporadic rather than chronic conditions.
”Mindanao continues to record the highest levels of self-rated poverty and food poverty, while Balance Luzon now posts the highest incidence of hunger among the major areas. Across all three indicators, the burden remains substantially heavier among Class E households,” the research firm said.
The face-to-face survey was administered from July 4 to 11, 2026, sampling 1,200 randomly chosen adults nationwide.
It holds a margin of error of ±3% at a 95% confidence level for national data, and ±6% for regional breakdowns across Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.