The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will fully implement nationwide the “Food Stamp Program” of the government in July this year, six months after its successful pilot implementation in parts of the country.
President Marcos has issued Executive Order No. 44, establishing the “Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program”. It’s a flagship program of DSWD which is mandated to undertake the necessary steps for the successful implementation and expansion of the program.
The program aims to reduce the incidence of voluntary hunger experienced by low-income households by providing monetary-based assistance through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that can be used to purchase select food commodities from eligible partner merchant store.
In a press briefing in Quezon City on Saturday, DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay said they are starting the preparations for the full implementation program, one of which is the hiring of the needed staff in the areas covered.
Punay said the program will be implemented in 10 regions and 12 provinces with an initial target of 300,000 families.
“This month po magsisimula na iyong validation at ating registration ng 300,000 beneficiaries para sa July na rin po natin. Naka-hire na po this month ng 1,000 validators dito sa mga implementation sites. Twenty-one provinces in 10 regions po iyan na na-identify ng ating departamento bilang priority areas,” he said.
Pilot testing of the program started in December last year, and is expected to end this month, according to Punay.
Punay said they are set to conduct review and assessment of the results of their six-month pilot testing, which will begin next month to determine the impact of the program to select 3,000 beneficiaries. Punay said the initial assessment conducted from February to March this year showed a significant impact to the lives of the select beneficiaries.
The DSWD is tasked to identify eligible beneficiaries of the program and to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure efficient and timely distribution of the food Stamps. PND
