The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board said it has approved a P74.6-billion food stamp program seeking to fight food insecurity and undernutrition in the Philippines.
The “Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers (REFUEL)” Project, approved by the NEDA board on Wednesday, is an enhanced version of the Philippine Food Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program (STAMP), spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“By approving the REFUEL project, the government demonstrates its unwavering commitment to fight food insecurity and undernutrition. The program reflects a renewed focus toward ending involuntary hunger, uplifting vulnerable communities, and promoting resilience through smart, nutrition-sensitive social protection,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement on Thursday.
The project will scale up the implementation of the “Walang Gutom” Program for 2025-2028, targeting 750,000 food-insecure households identified in the DSWD’s Listahanan 3 database, while still covering the same set of beneficiaries from the former Philippine Food STAMP.
The 2023 National Nutrition Survey of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute found that three in every 10 Filipino households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity and three out of every 100 households faced severe food insecurity.
“The project’s goal is to strengthen our
shock-responsive social protection systems by ensuring the timely delivery of food vouchers to Filipinos in need, particularly those facing hunger and nutritional challenges in the face of increasing climate and disaster risks,” Balisacan said.
REFUEL will be implemented from July 2025 to July 2028. Funding for the project will come from the Asian Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development.
The NEDA Board also approved changes to the New Centennial Water Source – Kaliwa Dam Project, on the request of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. The agency board specifically approved an increase in the total project cost, a change in the project scope, and an extension of the loan validity and implementation period for the project.
The approved changes bring the total project cost to P15.3 billion. The Kaliwa Dam, designed to provide an additional 600 million liters of raw water per day, is expected to serve the National Capital Region and the provinces of Rizal and Cavite. As of December 2024, over 24.8 percent of the dam construction has been completed.
The NEDA Board also approved the updated list of the government’s Infrastructure Flagship Projects.
The new list now includes a total of 207 projects, up from the previous 186, with eight high-impact and urgently needed projects already completed since 2023.
When Republic Act No. 12145, also known as the Economy, Planning and Development Act, takes effect on April 27, 2025, the NEDA Board will be called the Economy and Development Council, which will still be headed by the president of the country.
