MANILA - Involuntary hunger is expected to increase in the coming months as thousands of Filipinos struggle to rebuild their lives in the aftermaths of Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng, the National Anti-Poverty Commission said Tuesday.

NAPC Secretary Domingo Panganiban said he expects temporary hunger to affect thousands of families in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon who were affected by the twin storms. A total of 6.8 million people have been affected by the two storms in the past two weeks, according to the latest count of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

"The storm has affected traditional sources of fresh produce such as the Cordilleras so food prices particularly of vegetables and other produce have triple and even quadrupled. This means that more Filipinos will be unable to purchase this type of food because the prices are so high," Panganiban told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

The NAPC official issued the statement following the release of a new Social Weather Stations survey showing that 17.5 percent or 3.2 million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months. The figure is lower than the 20.3 percent or 3.7 million families who experienced involuntary hunger in the second quarter.

Panganiban said he expects more Filipinos to buy canned goods, which were placed under a government-imposed price ceiling.

He said the Department of Agriculture is also sourcing fresh produce from the Visayas and Mindanao to meet demand in Metro Manila and parts of Luzon. "Thankfully, the price of rice and fish has been stable," he said.

Panganiban said the biggest challenge faced by the government is providing food, potable water and medicine to more than 61,000 typhoon-hit families staying in 688 evacuation centers.

He said disease risk especially among children is also rising because of the sheer number of evacuees in government centers.  David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com