By Junex Doronio

MANILA — In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Bagong Pilipinas vision, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has assured international partners that hunger will be eradicated in the Philippines by 2028.

“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 nang Pilipino ang nagugutom,” Gatchalian confidently declared.

This commitment was his main message on Monday (29 July 2024), marking the first day of the familiarization visit of international partners.

A comprehensive presentation on the agency’s Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP) was delivered before the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors and country office representatives in General Luna, Surigao Del Norte.

The DSWD chief presented the scale-up plan for the FSP implementation.

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

Gatchalian mentioned that 300,000 households will receive EBT cards by the end of this year, another 300,000 households will be included in the program in 2025, and 400,000 more in 2026 to reach the target of 1 million household beneficiaries.

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

The WGA aims to honor and replicate the best practices of local government units (LGUs) in mitigating hunger in their localities. More than 100 LGUs participated, with 17 finalists making 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, further improving the health and nutrition status of their constituents.

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

This year, the ADB team visited Siargao to inspect various projects implemented by the DSWD, including the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP), the Expanded Social Assistance Project (ESAP) of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and the completed Typhoon Emergency Response.

Other DSWD officials present at the activity included 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.

(el Amigo/mnm)