BENEFICIARIES of the “Walang Gutom” food stamp program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) must enroll in the training programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to eventually become less dependent on government dole-outs.
Social Welfare Undersecretary Edu Punay, in a media forum held Saturday, said that unlike other DSWD programs, the food stamp project has a “conditionality” component which requires beneficiaries to work or seek employment and an “exit” provision that would limit the stay of the beneficiaries in the program to three to four years.
Punay said the condition would eventually help the beneficiaries become less dependent on the government.
Punay said the beneficiaries can avail of training programs offered by the DOLE or TESDA “so that we can capacitate them to stand on their own.”
“We are drafting the design in such a way that we will require our beneficiary families to get themselves involved in labor capacity building,” he said, adding that engagement in government training programs will allow recipients of the DSWD food stamp program to equip themselves with the necessary skills to enable them to find jobs and subsequently, support their families.
“So that when they graduate after three or four years, mayroon na silang trabaho, so they can sustain their livelihood, they can sustain their food requirements. So, iyon po ang iilan sa mga conditionalities po natin sa programang ito (So that when they graduate after three or four years, they would have a job, so they can sustain their livelihood, they can sustain their food requirements. These are some of the conditionalities of this program),” Punay said.
Punay said under the program, beneficiaries would have access to one meal per day and they can use the money that they will save from the setup for other things, such as transportation in going to work or the TESDA training.
In an interview with DzBB radio on Sunday, Punay said the food stamp program aims to promote self-sufficiency, encourage employment, and make beneficiaries more independent.
He said they want to ensure that beneficiaries will not get used to just receiving help from or being provided financial assistance by the government.
Under the program, the DSWD would provide beneficiaries with an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that will be loaded with P3,000 worth of nutritious food credits per month and would be enough to cover a family’s one meal for a day.
Punay said the beneficiaries would receive P36,000 worth of food products per year.
He said the DSWD is currently coordinating with concerned government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and some private groups where the beneficiaries can avail of the food products. It is also finalizing its list of accredited local retailers.
Punay said the beneficiaries are those who can only afford one meal a day and whose family earns P8,000 or less a month.
He said that based on the DSWD’s “Listahanan” data, at least 600,000 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries are not eligible to avail of the food stamp.
Punay said the DSWD would ensure that the food stamp scheme would not be a repeat of what is happening in the 4Ps where some families became overly dependent on the government and refused to “graduate” from the program.
“For example sa 4Ps, talagang masyadong dependent na. Ang ating mga ilang beneficiaries diyan, ayaw nang umalis sa 4Ps kahit na due for graduation na sila. Ito iyong gusto nating iwasan sa mga bagong programs nating gagawin (For example sa 4Ps, they are now too dependent… some of our beneficiaries have even refused to leave 4Ps even if they are due for graduation. This is what we want to avoid in our new programs),” he said.
