GUARANTEE letters issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be accepted as payments for “maintenance medicines” in 171 branches of Mercury Drugs Corporation starting November 4, Social Welfare Undersecretary for Operations Monina Josefina Romualdez said yesterday.
A guarantee letter is a document issued by the DSWD in favor of the beneficiary addressed to service providers that guarantees the payment of services on behalf of the client, including medicines.
Romualdez said the guarantee letter will be issued under DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program, which is one of the agency’s social protection services that provides medical, burial, transportation, food, or financial assistance to individuals who are in crisis as assessed by social workers.
“We are happy to announce to all our kababayans that starting Monday next week, November 4, DSWD-issued guarantee letters are now accepted in 171 selected Mercury Drug stores around the country. This partnership is a testament to the efforts of the DSWD to prioritize the welfare of individuals in crisis situations by ensuring a more efficient way to address their medical needs,” Romualdez said.
Among the Mercury Drug stores that have started accepting DSWD-issued guarantee letters are its branches in Fairview – Commonwealth, Ever Gotesco – Commonwealth, Tandang Sora – Visayas, Marikina – J.P. Rizal, and Quiapo – Plaza Miranda.
The agency said the DSWD beneficiary may contact or visit any of its field offices in their area of residence for the complete list of Mercury Drug stores where guarantee letters would be accepted.
To avail of the assistance, the beneficiary must present a letter request for assistance, along with a valid identification card, a prescription with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician that must be issued within the last six months; or a treatment protocol with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of attending physician, also issued within the last six months.
Meanwhile, President Marcos Jr. yesterday directed the DSWD to closely monitor the implementation of the “Walang Gutom” food stamp program to ensure the realization of the one million household target by 2027.
The President, in a social media post, acknowledged the 2023 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) poverty statistics report showing that the number of food-poor families went down from 1 million in 2021 to around 700,000 in 2023.
“With 182,771 families now receiving monthly food credits, I’ve asked the agency to closely monitor and report the Walang Gutom food stamp program’s impact. That way, we can keep on improving to reach our goal of supporting one million households by 2027. We’re on a determined path to ensuring that no Filipino goes hungry,” Marcos said.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian reported during the sectoral meeting with the President that based on the PSA’s monitoring, the number of food poor families slid by 300,000 in 2023 from one million in 2021, or during the period that the FSP was first implemented.
The PSA report, released in July this year, showed that the number of food poor families went down to 740,000 in 2023 from 1.04 million in 2021.
Under the FSP, beneficiaries are provided with a P3,000 food stamp voucher per month which they can exchange for nutritional food.
A six-month pilot implementation, which involved close to 30,000 families, was implemented in July last year.
For 2024, the target FSP beneficiary is 300,000, to be followed by another 300,000 in 2025 and 400,000 by 2026, or a total of one million food poor families.
