PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday led the launching of the pilot implementation of the “Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program” under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which seeks to reduce involuntary hunger among low-income households and address malnutrition and stunting among children.
The President, during the kick-off of the program in Tondo in Manila, said that apart from ending hunger before he steps down in 2028, he is hoping that the Food Stamp Program (FSP) would eventually pave the way to end, if not cut down the number of beneficiaries, of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program (4Ps).
“Sana. Ibig sabihin kasi pag-kaya na natin itigil iyan, sasabihin natin ibig sabihin wala nang nangangailangan. Maganda talaga kung maabot natin iyun (Hopefully. It would mean that there are no more families in need if we can already end that [4Ps]. That would be good if we reach that),” Marcos said when asked if the FSP would result in the termination of the 4Ps in the future.
The FSP provides one million of the poorest families in the country with a P3,000 monthly assistance that they can use to purchase nutritious food in accredited markets and groceries.
The program, which will run until 2027, requires the beneficiaries to seek employment or undergo technical and skills training to be able to find jobs later. It covers not just the poorest of the poor but also those with pregnant or lactating mothers to improve the family’s overall health condition.
The 4Ps, meanwhile, provides 4.4 million poor families with school children with monthly cash aid that they can use to support the needs of the students.
The President, however, felt that it is unlikely that the 4Ps program would be terminated, but the beneficiaries only reduced.
Marcos promised families during the launching that the government would always be there to assist Filipinos, especially during unforeseen events such as calamities and natural disasters.
“Kung minsan tinatamaan halimbawa tinatamaan ng bagyo, tinatamaan ng peste, tinatamaan ng kung anu-ano eh kailangan pa rin tulungan. Iyung 4Ps eh ‘yun pantawid ‘yun e. So kung hindi na kailangan magtawid, ibig sabihin may trabaho na, may kaya na ‘yung tao, kahit man lang mapakain ang sarili, ang pamilya, sana umabot tayo sa ganun (Sometimes we are hit by typhoons, sometimes by pests in agriculture, and many more. We still need to help [these families]. The 4Ps aims to get people across poverty. If it is no longer needed, it means the people already have jobs and are already capable of feeding themselves, their families, and we hope we can reach that),” he said.
The President said the main goal and dream of his administration is not just to end hunger but also to address malnutrition to eventually enable all Filipinos to become productive members of society.
“Walang gutom means no more hunger. That is the dream of this administration. That is what we are hoping to achieve in this administration by the end of 2028. We say that we have done everything to reduce hunger and poverty in our country and to be able to ensure that we can provide a good and healthy and productive life for our people,” he said.
“We have always tried to rise up from the throes of poverty, but the problem of hunger and malnutrition still remains. And that is why it has become a priority of this government that we will fight poverty. We will put in all our programs, so that one day we can say that we are able to give our people, at the very least, the food that they need to survive, the nutrition that they need to survive,” the President said.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the program was piloted in identified areas in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cagayan Valley Region, Bicol Region, Caraga Region, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and involves 3,000 family beneficiaries who will receive food credits of P3,000 from July to December 2023.
The beneficiaries will be given an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card loaded with the monthly food credits. They cannot purchase food and other non-food items that are not listed as nutritious food.
They will be allowed to exchange the first P1,500 for food composed of 50 percent of carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 20 percent fiber and fats during the first 15 days of the month and the remaining P1,500 during the second half of the month.
The beneficiaries will also be trained to prepare nutritious meals and will be provided with a booklet containing suggested affordable nutritious meals.
DSWD hopes to fully implement the FSP, which is implemented in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), by 2024.
Among those present during the FSP launch were Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, and representatives from the Department of Agriculture (DA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of Science and Technology — Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST — FNRI), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Also present were representatives from partner-institutions, including the WFP, ADB, Australian Embassy, Japanese Embassy, New Zealand Embassy, Hungarian Embassy, United States Agency for International Aid (USAID), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank (WB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations (UN) Philippines, International Labor Organization (ILO), and the European Union Delegation to the Philippines.
The President, the Vice President and Gatchalian led the distribution of the EBT to 10 beneficiaries of the FSP, which marked the start of the pilot implementation of the program.
Marcos also visited the different Kadiwa centers at the Don Bosco Youth Center compound where he talked with the beneficiaries and watched them use their EBT cards to purchase their chosen food items.
