A Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) official reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to sustain its anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts despite a survey result showing a drop in self-rated poverty ratings in the country.
An April 10-16 OCTA Research survey showed that the number of Filipino families that consider themselves poor dropped to 42 percent or around 11.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 from 50 percent or 13.2 million families in November 2024 or the last quarter of last year, while the self-rated food poor went down to 35 percent or around 9.2 million families from 49 percent or 12.9 million families during the same period.
Social Welfare Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said the DSWD will continue to work with its partners in the government and the private sector to enhance its programs and services and will use the survey results as a reminder to work harder to achieve President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision of a hunger-free Philippines and a single-digit poverty incidence by 2028.
Dumlao said the drop in survey ratings may be attributed to the whole-of-government approach or campaign, with the DSWD leading the anti-poverty and anti-hunger campaigns.
She said among the programs the DSWD had implemented in collaboration with other government agencies are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the Walang Gutom Program (WGP), and Walang Gutom Kitchen.
The 4Ps is the administration’s flagship anti-poverty program that provides monthly subsidies to the poorest families, provided that they comply with the requirement of sending their school-age children to schools and availing themselves of health services.
The WGP, another flagship program, aims to eliminate hunger by providing monthly food voucher subsidies that the beneficiaries may exchange for nutritious and affordable food. The Walang Gutom Kitchen addresses involuntary hunger and reduces food wastage by turning donated surplus food from hotels, restaurants, and organizations into hot meals for individuals experiencing hunger.
Dumlao said apart from these programs, DSWD also provides livelihood assistance, cash-for-work, and feeding programs to assist non-beneficiaries of the three programs.
