Manila: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will boost the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) with an additional 300,000 beneficiaries within the year, and an additional 150,000 food-poor families next year. Undersecretary Eduardo Punay of the DSWD’s Innovations and Programs Development Group (IPDG) told reporters during the Thursday Media Forum that the WGP’s scale-up means that all 750,000 identified food-poor families would benefit from the program by next year.
According to Philippines News Agency, the initial target set by DSWD was one million household beneficiaries, based on the 2021 food insecurity survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). However, in 2023, the PSA updated its data, indicating a decrease in the number of food-poor families to 750,000, prompting the DSWD to adjust its target. Punay emphasized that local government units (LGUs) have no influence over the selection of WGP beneficiaries, stating that the Food Stamp Program specifically targets those identified as food-poor through the DSWD’s Listahanan 3 database.
The subsequent list of beneficiaries will be based on the PSA’s Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) data. In his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced a directive to increase WGP beneficiaries to cover all food-poor households and end hunger by 2028. The program is currently implemented across 22 provinces in 10 regions.
Under the WGP, beneficiaries receive PHP3,000 food credits via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which can be used to purchase nutritious food items from DSWD-accredited retailers. The food credits are non-convertible to cash, and beneficiaries are required to attend nutrition education sessions and productivity enhancement sessions for potential livelihood opportunities.
Now in its second year, the WGP has positively impacted the hunger concerns of the 300,000 pilot beneficiaries. A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by Globe Telecom showed a 4.1 percentage point decrease in the share of households experiencing “moderate” hunger among WGP program beneficiaries from October 2024 to December.
Punay highlighted the collaborative efforts in the WGP implementation, involving agencies like the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of Education (DepEd) to support families in improving their lives.
Anselmo Brosas, a beneficiary from Tondo, Manila, shared his family’s experience at the Media Forum, noting that with the program, his family of 10 can now eat more than three meals a day and afford fruits and vegetables. Brosas expressed gratitude for the program, which has significantly improved their quality of life. Recently, Brosas won the Metro Manila Regional Walang Gutom cook-off challenge, receiving a PHP15,000 cash prize.
