Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said reducing poverty incidence to single-digit before the end of the term of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr in 2028 can be achieved through the collective efforts of government agencies.

In an interview with NewsWatch Plus Senior Anchor Menchu Macapagal aired on Tuesday (August 6), Secretary Gatchalian emphasized that ending poverty is not a function of the DSWD alone but the “whole of government.”

“The President has set a self-imposed deadline on all of us that by the end of his term, poverty should be single digit, and we all believe that we can do it. Why? Because it’s a whole-of-government approach. Poverty reduction is not just a function of DSWD but it’s a function of all departments—job generation, capacitating our people to make sure that they’re educated and they’re ready to catch whatever economic gains there are,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

The DSWD chief added the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP), which invests in human capital, is one of the government efforts to eradicate hunger and eventually alleviate poverty in the country.

The Walang Gutom 2027: FSP, as explained by Secretary Gatchalian, is the DSWD’s initiative to address involuntary hunger by promoting behavioral change among food-poor families and teaching them on how to prepare healthy and safe meals.

Program beneficiaries are provided with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that will be loaded with food credits amounting to Php3,000 to purchase a select list of food commodities.

“You can’t be part of the productivity of the country if you’re hungry. So this one, we’d like to look at it as an investment to human capital. Because remember, there are conditions to this also. One, we’ve worked with the Department of Labor and Employment to make sure that, since hindi ka na gutom theoretically speaking, were giving you a food credit, somebody in the family has to participate in the job force,” the DSWD chief explained.

According to Secretary Gatchalian, when a family member already finds a job, they can already exit from the program in two years’ time.

“So that while we’re giving you a leg up now, when somebody finds that job, hopefully in 2 years’ time, we can exit you from the program. Kasi may income na,” Secretary Gatchalian further explained.

The DSWD also works with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in capacitating FSP beneficiaries to help them acquire the skill sets necessary to get a job.

“If you can’t find a job, we’re working with TESDA to capacitate you. TechVoc, vocational school so that okay, you go to a job fair now, you didn’t land a job, maybe you don’t have the skill sets, we’ll capacitate you,” the DSWD chief pointed out.

Secretary Gatchalian stressed that the FSP by itself is an innovation.

“It’s using a digital platform, para wala na yung pila pa. Number two, it’s introducing behavioral change, and three, the conditionalities—they have been tried and tested in other countries,” the DSWD chief said.

Secretary Gatchalian also highlighted the importance of working with the private sector in achieving the single-digit poverty incidence.

“In this administration, the President has put a lot of emphasis on working as a team, working as a whole-of-nation, and at the same time, not just government, but bringing in the private sector,” Secretary Gatchalian said. #