Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian joined President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday (June 26) to confer the 2024 Walang Gutom Awards (WGA) on  local government units (LGUs) with notable anti-hunger initiatives.

During the awarding rites held at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace, Secretary Gatchalian presented to the chief executive the finalists of the ‘Walang Gutom’ Awards, which he described as DSWD’s allies in achieving a hunger-free Philippines by year 2027.

“I would like to present to you our partners toward the realization of a zero hunger Philippines. These are our local government units who have walked the extra mile in implementing the programs and services to address food security and the nutrition challenges of their constituents,” Secretary Gatchalian said in his speech.

The DSWD chief told the President that the finalists of the ‘Walang Gutom’ Awards (WGA) were chosen based on a comprehensive set of criteria, including their impact on food security and nutrition, engagement of communities, innovation, resilience, sustainability, and efficiency in service delivery.

The awardees of the WGA and their winning projects in the barangay level were Barangay Commonwealth in Quezon City with its ‘Reskyusi Food Basket Program’ and Barangay Naggasican, in Santiago City, Isabela province with its ‘Gulayan sa Bawat Bakuran.’

For the municipal level, the winners were Bacnotan, La Union with SIBOL: Sustainable Interventions to Break Hunger and Zero (0) Malnutrition; Palompon, Leyte with Adlaw sa Danggit; and Asuncion, Davao del Norte with Intersectoral Participation, Our Way to Combat Malnutrition.

For the city level, the awardees were Bago City, Negros Occidental (Food Staples Sufficiency Program); Cadiz City, Negros Occidental (Pagka-on Aton Tatapon “A Holistic Approach to Sustainable Food Security); Kidapawan City, Cotabato (Kidapawan City Agricultural Market and Trading Center (KCAMTC) A community engagement for food production and nutrition); and Mati City, Davao Oriental ( Maternal, Mental, Nutrition Recovery Family Care-avan).

Biliran Province with its ‘From Garden to Table Program’ was the sole winner for the provincial level.

The  10 winners received Php2 million each under the DSWD’s  Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) that will expand their anti-hunger programs and cover more beneficiaries to further improve the health and nutrition status of their constituents.

The seven LGU finalists, on the other hand, received Php1 million each.

Meanwhile, President Marcos lauded the efforts of the LGU finalists for their participation to put an end to hunger experienced by poor Filipinos.

“As agents of the government on the ground, our LGUs not only have a better knowledge and have good insights on the incidence of hunger in their localities but also provide — maybe perhaps better programs, better strategies, or approaches to address hunger, specific to the areas that their constituents lie,” President Marcos said in his speech.

The President also called on them to further examine and improve their initiatives to create lasting solutions to end hunger in the Philippines.

“I call upon our government and our partners from the private sector, from the non-profit organizations, our friends from the international community, and citizens to work together as a united front and Walang Gutom advocates,” the President said.

Galing Pook Foundation (GPF) Chairperson Mel Senen Sarmiento and GPF Executive Director Georgina Ann Hernandez-Yan were among the special guests of the DSWD.

Other top government executives who attended the awarding ceremony were Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Anton Lagdameo, DSWD Undersecretary for Innovations Edu Punay and Asst. Secretary Baldr Bringas.

The foreign delegates and international partners who were present in the event included Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu PSM, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director Pavit Ramachandran, and World Food Programme – Philippines (WFP) Country Director a.i. Dipayan Bhattacharyya.

The Walang Gutom Awards is a collaboration between the DSWD and the GPF that aims to honor and replicate the best practices of LGUs in mitigating hunger in their respective localities. #