The government has put in place necessary measures to address the reported rise in the incidence of involuntary hunger in the country, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Friday.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian cited the timely scale-up implementation of the Walang Gutom 2027 Food Stamp Program (WGP) starting July 2024 as the administration’s response to the increase in the number of Filipinos who experienced involuntary hunger.

“As we expand the Walang Gutom program from an initial pilot implementation covering 2,300 household beneficiaries in five areas to 300,000 household beneficiaries in 22 provinces in 10 regions, we are confident that this will ease the hunger situation and significantly improve the quality of life for affected families,” Secretary Gatchalian assured.

“We are committed to addressing this issue head-on. Our goal is to ensure that no Filipino family goes hungry,” the DSWD chief vowed.

Secretary Gatchalian made this reassurance following results of the recently conducted survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), which showed that the number of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger rose to 22.9% in the third quarter of this year from 17.6% in the second quarter.

While the survey is experiential in nature and based on self-assessment, Secretary Gatchalian said the Department recognizes the gravity of these figures and is taking immediate steps and decisive actions, including enhancements in the nationwide implementation of WGP such as the scaling-up of the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program, one of the priority programs of the administration of President Ferdinand ‘Bong Bong’ Marcos Jr., in addressing hunger and poverty incidence throughout the country.

The DSWD chief explained that the WGP provides crucial interventions which not only address hunger and malnutrition among the poorest households, but also capacitate beneficiaries to stand on their own feet through job skills and job placement components in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“We have already identified our target areas where concentration of food poor families and prevalence of malnutrition are high. And we have already started the redemption of food credits or distribution of food items in these priority sites,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

Secretary Gatchalian bared that the DSWD is working double time to serve an initial target of 300,000 beneficiaries this year. Of this target, over 180,000 beneficiaries have already been onboarded to the program with over 80,000 of them already receiving food credits worth P3,000 per month.

The WGP, which was declared as a flagship program by President Marcos Jr through Executive Order No. 44 issued last year, is the government’s flagship program to combat food insecurity and ensure that vulnerable families have access to sufficient and nutritious food.

The anti-hunger program is designed to provide essential food credits to low-income families, empowering them to access nutritious food and alleviate hunger.

Through the program, the DSWD aims to provide sustainable solutions that address both immediate hunger and the long-term well-being of Filipino families. It features assessment tools based on both experiential measures and family income and food expenditure metrics.

The WGP was piloted by DSWD, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the World Food Program, from December 2023 to June 2024. #

Tagalog Version

Walang Gutom Program ng DSWD, sagot sa tumaas na bilang ng mga nagugutom

Inihayag ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), nabibigyan ng tamang katugunan ng gobyerno ang mataas na bilang ng mga nagugutom sa pamamagitan ng implementasyon ng Walang Gutom Program.

Ayon kay DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian ang pinalakas na implementasyon ng Walang Gutom 2027 Food Stamp Program (WGP) na sinimulan nitong July 2024 ang siyang naging tugon ng pamahalaan sa tumaas na bilang ng mga Pilipinong nakakaranas ng kagutuman.

“As we expand the Walang Gutom program from an initial pilot implementation covering 2,300 household beneficiaries in five areas to 300,000 household beneficiaries in 22 provinces in 10 regions, we are confident that this will ease the hunger situation and significantly improve the quality of life for affected families,” sabi ni Secretary Gatchalian.

Dagdag pa niya, “we are committed to addressing this issue head-on. Our goal is to ensure that no Filipino family goes hunger.”

Ito ang tiniyak ni Secretary Gatchalian kasunod ng naging resulta kamakailan ng isinagawang Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, kung saan lumabas na tumaas ng halos 22.9% ang mga pamilyang Pilipino na nakararanas ng gutom nitong third quarter kumpara sa 17.6% noong second quarter ngayong taon.

Sa kabila ng pagiging experiential in nature at nakabase lamang sa self-assessment, kinikilala ni Secretary Gatchalian ang bigat ng resulta ng survey kung saan mabilis itong gumagawa ng mga hakbangin upang aksyunan at palakasin pa ang programa ng Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program.

Ipinaliwanag ng DSWD chief na ang WGP ay nagbibigay ng mga interbensyon na magpapagaang at magbibigay resolusyon sa kagutuman at malnutrisyon sa mga mahihirap na mamamayan at makapagtuturo din sa mga ito upang mabuhay ng normal sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng mga angkop na training at trabaho sa pakikipagtulungan na rin sa Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) at Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“We have already identified our target areas where concentration of food poor families and prevalence of malnutrition are high. And we have already started the redemption of food credits or distribution of food items in these priority sites,” sabi pa ni Secretary Gatchalian.

Sabi pa ni Secretary Gatchalian, doble kayod ngayon ang ahensya upang maabot nito ang initial target na 300,000 beneficiaries para ngayong taon. Sa nasabing bilang, mahigit sa 180,000 beneficiaries ang kabilang na sa programa kung saan mayroon ng higit sa 80,000 sa mga ito ang nakatatanggap na ng food credits worth P3,000 per month.

Ang WGP, na isa sa mga flagship program sa ilalim ni Pangulong Marcos ay batay sa Executive Order No. 44 na inilabas noong nakaraang taon.

Ang anti-hunger program ay dinesenyo upang magbigay ng essential food credits sa mga low-income families, upang mabigyan ang mga ito ng access sa masustansyang pagkain at mabawasan ang bilang ng mga nagugutom.

Sa pamamagitan ng nasabing programa, ang DSWD ay maglalaan naman ng mga angkop na solusyon upang matugunan ang pagkagutom at mabigyan ang mga ito ng long-term well-being.

Ang WGP ay sinimulan ng DSWD sa pakikipagtulungan na rin ng Asian Development Bank at World Food Program, mula December 2023 hanggang June 2024. #