SOCIAL Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian has called on the private sector, especially big businesses, to strengthen its collaboration with the government and engage in more programs that would help eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the country.
Gatchalian made the call during the launch of the Kain Tayo Pilipinas (KTP) Movement in Makati City where he reiterated the need for a whole-of-nation and a whole-of-society approach to eradicate hunger and malnutrition.
“We can improve the nutritional status of our Kababayans by forming and sustaining partnerships at the local, regional, and national levels to ensure a coordinated approach in delivering sustainable food systems that do not compromise our country’s economy, environment, or social systems,” he said.
He also updated the private sector on the different anti-hunger and nutrition programs of the government, particularly under the DSWD such as the Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP); Bangsamoro Umpungan sa Nutrisyon (BangUN) Project; Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP); and the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP).
The KTP movement, chaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan, is a coalition led by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and composed of private sector organizations that aims to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity in the Philippines through the implementation of specialized and targeted initiatives tailored to the nutritional needs of specific vulnerable communities.
The KTP Board includes Manolito Tayag; the PBSP Executive Director Elvin Ivan Uy; Zuellig Family Foundation President and Executive Director Austere Panadero; Galing Pook Foundation (GPF) Executive Director Georgina Ann Hernandez-Yang and Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network Secretariat John Echauz.
President Marcos Jr. wants the eradication of hunger to be his lasting legacy and hopes to achieve that through programs such as the Food Stamp Program (FSP) program which aims to end the hunger of some one million families in the country by 2027.
FSP provides a P3,000 monthly subsidy to the one million food poorest families in the country until 2027 which they can use to acquire nutritious food. The beneficiaries are also required to seek employment during enrollment in the program to eventually be able to provide for their families and contribute to society.
The DSWD launched the FPS in Palo, Leyte yesterday with the first-day redemption of nutritious food by 152 FSP beneficiaries from the municipality.
The beneficiaries use their P3,000 food credits to purchase nutritious food items from local partner merchants and retailers.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was also signed by DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay, DSWD Regional Director Grace Subong, Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla and representatives of local partner merchants for the conduct of the program in the province.
“Nakikita po ninyo ngayon, narito magkasama ang national government at ang local government na nagtutulungan para mapunan ang inyong pangangailangan sa pagkain. Dahil sa ilalim po ng Bagong Pilipinas ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos, tandaan ninyo po, pangako namin sa inyo, hindi po kayo papabayaan ng gobyerno (As you can see now, the national government and local government are working together to attend to your needs for food. Because under the Bagong Pilipinas of President Bongbong Marcos, take note, we vow that the government will not abandon you),” Punay said.