Beyond the numbers: The hidden hunger behind Filipino unhappiness
In his column, “Monitoring unhappiness” (3/28/2026), Mahar Mangahas quantifies an important point: focusing on unhappiness rather than happiness offers a clearer picture of the situation among adult Filipinos (aged 18 and above). The Social Weather Stations data show that, even though 33 percent are very happy and 28 percent are very satisfied with life, about 17 percent (roughly 12.72 million/74.8 million adult Filipinos) feel unhappy, and 21 percent (15.71 million) are generally dissatisfied with life.
Mangahas said feelings of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life are related to severe economic deprivation, resulting in poverty and involuntary hunger. He said unhappiness among adult Filipinos has worsened since the pandemic, with more people facing it daily, which triggers their unhappiness. (I imagine this applies to poor parents who must be heartbroken when their children are hungry and ask for food, without which they pass out or “nalilipasan ng gutom.”
His main point: to genuinely improve well-being, the government and policymakers should focus less on abstract economic metrics and more on addressing the stimuli of unhappiness—poverty and hunger. This reality led me to reflect on its hidden psychological and theological implications.
From these numbers, a psychological insight emerges that feeling happy doesn’t always mean everything is okay—sometimes, hidden distress stemming from unmet basic needs persists.
It shows that even when people report overall happiness and life satisfaction, poverty and hunger can weaken the three pillars of mental health (Keyes: 2006): emotional well-being (happiness, interest in life, and satisfaction), psychological well-being (liking most of one’s personality, managing daily tasks effectively, and being satisfied with life), and social well-being (positive functioning, societal contribution, feeling part of a community, believing in societal progress, and finding meaning in societal functioning). Severe economic deprivation hinders the innate drive for self-improvement and self-awareness, blocking the road to true happiness and life satisfaction.
From a theological perspective, these findings remind us that widespread poverty and involuntary hunger in a country blessed with abundant natural resources constitute an affront to social and distributive justice, the root cause of the economic deprivation of the poor and hungry.
Grounded in the Church’s social teaching on the universal destination of goods (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 69), the church community is called to announce justice and denounce injustice, making the struggle against poverty and hunger an expression of God’s love for the poor (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 186–201). It becomes not just an existential goal but an active expression of God’s compassionate love for the poorest and most vulnerable. Responsive discipleship involves more than acts of charity; it also includes transforming unjust systems of relationships that keep people deprived and starving.
Addressing rising poverty and involuntary hunger requires both compassion and structural reforms. It starts with empathy: recognizing others’ suffering—seeing with our eyes, listening with our ears, and caring with our hearts. Imagining how they might feel, perhaps, as Saint Mother Teresa said, we can be inspired to “feed just one,” even if we cannot feed many. On a larger scale, we are called to support food-sharing initiatives—such as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino, Walang Gutom Program, and community pantries—advocate for fair economic policies, and hold corrupt officials accountable for depriving the poor and their children of opportunities and a better chance at life.
Noel Asiones,
ngasiones@gmail.com
