DECEMBER 2023 marks the pilot implementation of the NO HUNGER 2027: Food Stamp Program of the Marcos Administration.
The government aims to register around three thousand poor Filipino families or those earning less than P8,000 in the first six months of the said program.
Each family will receive an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card loaded with food credits worth P3,000.
The pilot implementation was funded with three million dollars from the Asian Development Bank.
However, as of now, only over two thousand families from five locations nationwide have been registered in the program, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The DSWD admits that one of the challenges they face in the pilot implementation is finding the remaining beneficiaries.
“We are collaborating with the DILG [Department of Interior and Local Government] through the barangays to locate and visit them in their households,” Asec. Baldr Bringas, Department of Social Welfare and Development stated.
The scale-up implementation of the food stamp program will commence by July this year.
The DSWD aims to increase the number of beneficiaries to 300,000 in 2024, 600,000 in 2025, and one million families by 2027.
DSWD to strictly enforce conditions in scale-up implementation of Food Stamp Program
The DSWD will strictly enforce conditions during the scale-up implementation.
Beneficiaries are required to attend Nutrition Education Sessions and participate in job fairs by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) or TESDA training to remain eligible for the Food Stamp Program.
The adherence of beneficiaries to these conditions is one of the challenges faced by the agency.
“During food redemption, when we summon the beneficiaries to claim their P3,000, they are all present. They all attend. However, when it comes to Nutrition Education and our job fairs, suddenly, some get sick or have urgent matters to attend to,” Asec. Baldr Bringas, Department of Social Welfare and Development said.
With these, the DSWD advised the beneficiaries.
“This is a benefit given to us. It’s not part of our rights. If we fail to meet the conditions stipulated in our programs, the state also has the right to withdraw it and give it to other deserving beneficiaries in the future,” Asec. Romel Lopez, Department of Social Welfare and Development stressed.
The program received 1.89 billion pesos from the General Appropriations Act for 2024, and an estimated 17 billion pesos will be needed for 2025.
Overall, the Marcos administration requires around 40 billion pesos to reach its target of one million impoverished families by 2027.
