House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin on Tuesday lauded the implementation of Food Stamp Program (FSP) of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as it would assure that every poor family will have something on their table.
“The good thing is nasimulan ang programang ito under the PBBM administration kasi sa napakatagal na na hinaing na magkaroon ng food stamp program ngayon lang ito naipatupad,” Garin told reporters during the press conference at the House of Representatives.
The lawmaker also said that it would not only alleviate plight of Filipino families but it would also help farmers and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as the aid that would be given will be only purchased to accredited retailers.
The said program aims to reduce the incidence of voluntary hunger experienced by low-income households by providing monetary-based assistance through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that can be used to purchase select food commodities from eligible partner merchant store.
Meanwhile, Iloilo First District Representative said that the might not be enough on the present time but it would possibly increase which would provide greater assistance to Filipino families.
“It might not be enough but its a good start, but then it is not the only program. Later on, pwedeng tumaas ‘yang [ipamimigay ng gobyerno],” she said.
“In other words, it is just one component of the whole big buy of public services. Kung titingnan natin, magkakaroon ng oportunidad na pang hanapbuhay, magkakaroon ng mas maraming tulong.”
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will fully implement the said program starting this July, six months after its successful pilot implementation in some parts of the country.
Marcos earlier signed Executive Order No. 44, establishing DSWD’s flagship program—Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program.
“Ang daming programa [na] pinagsasabay-sabay pero isa lang ang layunin, ang mabigyan ng mas magaang na buhay ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino dahil bawat buhay ay mahalaga at bawat bahay ay dapat may pagkain,” Garin said.
