With the issuance by Malacañang of an Executive Order declaring the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program as a flagship program, the national government moves closer to its goal of significantly reducing the incidence of hunger throughout the country.
We know, however, that hunger is only one aspect of the problem of mass poverty in the country.
The Food Stamp Program should therefore be accompanied by other anti-poverty measures, including job creation.
The lead implementing agency of Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program is the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
That’s because it is the primary government entity responsible for the implementation and management of social welfare development programs in the country.
What the DSWD will do to ensure the successful implementation of the program is to identify eligible beneficiaries and cooperate with relevant stakeholders to assure efficient and timely distribution and use of food stamps.
The DSWD will collaborate with other national and local government units for better implementation of the program.
Government agencies at the national and local level, on the other hand, have been given marching orders to extend full support and cooperate with the DSWD for the effective implementation of the project.
The food stamp program is aimed at reducing voluntary hunger among low-income households by providing monetary-based assistance accessible through Electronic Benefit Transfer cards.
These cards can be used to purchase select food commodities from partner merchant stores.
The government kicked off the food stamp program in July with 50 families in Tondo, Manila selected for pilot testing for six months.
For the six-month pilot run, other areas will also be included – one each in Northern Luzon, Mimaropa, Caraga, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The beneficiaries consist of the “poorest food-poor families” – or those earning below P8,000 monthly – and families with pregnant and lactating women.
The 50 families selected by the DSWD will be able to use electronic benefit transfer cards to be provided to them by the agency loaded with food credits of P3,000 per month.
Half is meant for carbohydrates, 30 percent is for protein, and 20 percent is for fruits and vegetables. The cards entitle beneficiaries to purchase a select list of food commodities from registered and accredited retailers of the DSWD.
The pilot run has been funded by a $3 million grant from the Asian Development Bank. The government has targeted around one million “food-poor” families to benefit from the program.
That the government is serious in seeing this program achieve concrete results is the President has directed the government agencies involved in program implementation that he does not want to see a single trace of anomalies in the food stamp program.
This should serve as a stern warning to the greedy and the corrupt that they should steer clear of this program or else they could wind up in jail.
