In response to growing concerns over the affordability of food, a resolution seeking to investigate the persistently high prices of food and basic agricultural commodities was filed in the Senate to identify interventions that will strengthen food security and address food inflation.
Prices of essential food items–rice, vegetables, meat, fish, and other agricultural products–have significantly increased in recent months, burdening Filipino families and depriving the country’s most vulnerable sectors of healthy and nutritious food.
The resolution, titled “Resolution Directing the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian reform to Conduct an Inquiry, in Aid of Legislation, into the Persistently High Prices of Food and Other Basic Agricultural Commodities, with the End in View of Identifying Urgent Interventions to Ensure Food Affordability, Strengthen Food Security, and Protect Consumers from Excessive Price Increases,” was filed last July 8.
“Review the effectiveness of existing policies, programs, and interventions to address the rising cost of food, identify systemic gaps, and recommend appropriate legislative and administrative measures.”
Through the resolution, Senator Kiko Pangilinan is urging the Senate panel “to review the effectiveness of existing policies, programs, and interventions to address the rising cost of food, identify systemic gaps, and recommend appropriate legislative and administrative measures”.
While the resolution recognized that “the government has taken measures to stabilize food prices, including importation, price monitoring, and targeted subsidies,” it lamented that “many consumers still experience limited access to affordable food”.
The resolution also cited recent reports from various government agencies, which identified the multiple factors– supply chain disruptions, elevated production and transportation costs, importation constraints, hoarding, profiteering, and the increasingly severe effects of climate change on local food production–that drive food inflation.
“The number of Filipinos who experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months rose to 20 percent.”
According to the recent Social Weather Stations survey, the number of Filipinos who experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months rose to 20 percent, slightly increasing from 19.1 percent in April 2025.
Mindanao posted the highest hunger rate at 26.3 percent, followed by Metro Manila at 20.3 percent, the Visayas at 19.7 percent, and Balance Luzon at 17 percent.
