President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants his administration to fight hunger under the Food Stamp Program (FSP) and, at the same time, ensure that its beneficiaries get the nutrition they need through the food they purchase.

The President made the remarks on Friday during the official launching of the FSP of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as he led the distribution of the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards to beneficiaries in Surigao del Norte.

“At we do not only talk now of food supply, we do not talk only of enough in terms of food, in terms of volume, but the quality of the food and the quality of the nutrition that it provides,” President Marcos said during the launching held in Siargao Island.

“And that is a new aspect to this new program that we are launching today … Dahil hindi po naman tama na [basta may] pagkain ay sapat [na]: Dapat kumpleto at balanse rin ang nutrisyon na nakukuha natin mula dito—lalo na para sa mga kabataan,” he added.

President Marcos said his administration is carrying out the Food Stamp Program to fight hunger and, at the same time, ensure the well-being of the beneficiaries by better food nutrition through the EBT Cards. The DSWD pilot-tested the FSP in Tondo, Manila last July 18.

The FSP, a cash-based assistance in the form of EBT Cards, is a flagship program of the DSWD aimed at decreasing the incidence of involuntary hunger by improving the availability and accessibility of nutritious food for less fortunate households while helping address nutritional concerns.

The DSWD submitted a draft executive order declaring the FSP as a government flagship program, directing all national government agencies, local government units, and government-owned or -controlled corporations to support its implementation.

The draft is currently being reviewed by the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration.

To date, the FSP has 100 beneficiaries nationwide. PND