The national feeling of the Philippines right before lunch break. It's the monster in your stomach that growls during a quiet meeting. It's the reason "Tara, kain!" is a more powerful greeting than "Hello." The phrase "gutom na gutom" is its final evolution, where you're so hungry you could eat a whole lechon by yourself. Being 'gutom' is a temporary problem; being 'patay-gutom' (desperately poor/hungry) is a whole different social issue.