MANILA - The Philippine government welcomed Monday the opening of publicly initiated community pantries nationwide to help those less fortunate who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The administration is doing "everything that we can in order to address all the multifaceted concerns and issues on the ground," said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, head of the National Task Force on Zero Hunger.

"We welcome any help and support na maibibigay ng sambayanng Pilipino. Kailangan natin magtulungan dito, that’s the bottomline," he told ANC's Headstart.

(We welcome any help and support that the Filipino people can give. We need to help each other, that's the bottomline.)

"Kami ay nagpapasalamat sa lahat ng gumagawa ng initiatives para tumulong sa ating mga kababayan. Kami rin naman po sa government we also understand that this fight against COVID-19 is a whole of nation fight."

(We thank everyone who made an initiative to help our people. We in government also understand that this fight against COVID-19 is a whole of nation fight.)

When asked if government would create its own version of community pantry, Nograles said its food packs are allotted for localized lockdowns and the typhoon season.

"It’s in that context we are providing the help needed, doon nakareserba ang ating food packs at family packs. Plus remember typhoon season is coming, we also have to reserve ang (our) food packs natin," he said.

(That's where our food packs and family packs are reserved.)

The NTF-Zero Hunger is working with World Bank on a feeding program for the top 235 towns where hunger is most prevalent, he added.

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Nearly one-third of Filipino families, estimated at 7.6 million households, experienced hunger in the third quarter of last year, according to a Social Weather Stations survey released in September.

• 7.6 million Filipino households went hungry in past 3 months: SWS
• Record hunger in the Philippines as COVID restrictions bite

In January, the country's unemployment rate rose with around 4 million adult Filipinos, or 8.7 percent of the labor force, found jobless versus the same period last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority earlier said.

• 4 million Filipinos jobless in January even as economy further reopens
• SWS: 3 in 5 adult Filipinos say quality of life got worse in 2020

The Philippine economy last year registered a -9.5 percent growth, its first contraction since 1998, as businesses closed down due to COVID-19 restrictions.

• PH posts worst GDP contraction since World War 2 with -9.5 pct growth rate in 2020

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