Bicol: The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol (DSWD-5) has announced an expansion of its "Walang Gutom Program" (WGP), which will now include an additional 44,000 beneficiaries this year. This expansion builds on the nearly 30,000 households already benefiting from the program in the region.
According to Philippines News Agency, DSWD-5 Regional Director Norman Laurio shared that out of the 44,000 new beneficiaries from the six provinces in Bicol, 9,618 have already redeemed their food credits. The selection of beneficiaries was carried out using the Listahanan 3 (L3) and the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Laurio explained that the verification activities for all identified households from L3 and CBMS began in December 2025 and concluded on February 7, 2026. The Walang Gutom Indicator (WaGi) tool was used to assess the extent of food assistance needs and determine a family's status. Once verified at the regional level, the central office confirmed whether these households were part of the bottom one million food-poor families.
The redemption process for beneficiaries, especially the newly included ones, occurs in batches. Laurio highlighted the program's focus on promoting healthy foods to address hunger and encouraged beneficiaries to adopt better nutritional habits.
Funding for the 2025 beneficiaries is sourced from the General Appropriation Act of 2026, while new beneficiaries are supported by the Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers (REFUEL) Project. Beneficiaries receive PHP3,000 in food credits via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which can be used to purchase nutritious food items from accredited retailers.
Laurio noted that each household can redeem benefits up to 36 times, emphasizing that benefits continue as long as the redemptions are not exhausted. However, he cautioned that certain factors, such as funding disbursement delays and natural calamities, could affect the regularity of redemptions.
Evelyn Baybayon Yanzon, a 63-year-old food vendor from Sta. Teresita, Cataingan, Masbate, expressed her gratitude for the program. She shared that the assistance helps meet her family's daily nutritional needs and alleviates financial pressures, especially with her grandchildren's education expenses.
