“We believe that we can end hunger by 2027. It is a bold statement. We’ve consulted experts and it can be done. By the time President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. steps out of office, wala ng Pilipino ang nagugutom.”

This was the main message of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Rex Gatchalian on the first day of the familiarization visit where gave a comprehensive presentation on the agency’s Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP) before the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors and country office representatives in General Luna, Surigao Del Norte on Monday (July 29).

The FSP aims to combat involuntary hunger by providing its beneficiaries with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that will be loaded with food credits amounting to Php3,000 to purchase a select list of nutritious food commodities.

Secretary Gatchalian presented the scale-up plan of the agency for the FSP implementation.

The DSWD chief mentioned that for this year, some 300,000 households will be issued EBT cards before the end of the year, another 300,000 households will be included in the program in 2025, and then 400,000 more in 2026 to be able to reach the target of 1 million household-beneficiaries.

Aside from the FSP, the Secretary also highlighted the recently concluded Walang Gutom Awards (WGA), which is a collaboration between the DSWD and the Galing Pook Foundation (GPF).

The WGA aimed to honor and replicate the best practices of local government units (LGUs) in mitigating hunger in their respective localities. More than 100 LGUs participated in the search with 17 finalists making it to the list.

From the 17 finalists, 10 LGU winners received Php2 million each under the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) to help them expand their anti-hunger programs and cover more beneficiaries to further improve the health and nutrition status of their constituents.

The familiarization visit for the ADB executives, which is conducted once a year, served as an opportunity for the international partners to familiarize themselves with the Philippines, as the ADB’s host country; and ADB-supported programs and projects in the country.

For this year, the ADB team went to Siargao to visit the different projects being implemented by the DSWD in the area, which include the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stam Program (FSP), the Expanded Social Assistance Project (ESAP) of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); and the already completed Typhoon Emergency Response.

Other DSWD officials present in the activity were Undersecretary for Innovations Eduardo Punay; Assistant Secretaries Baldr Bringas, Juan Carlo Marquez, and Marites Maristela; and DSWD Field Office-Caraga Regional Director Mari-Flor Dollaga-Libang. #