‘ZERO HUNGER’
SOCIAL Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced that the national government is now ready to pilot the WALANG GUTOM 2027: Food Provision through Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program or Food STAMP Program.
“Handang-handa na tayo sa kickoff. Tuesday is the kickoff of the pilot. The pilot would take within six months to fully mature. Tukoy na sila [beneficiaries] They are made of the poorest food-poor families and pregnant and lactating women,” Gatchalian said.
“May card na sila at magagamit na nila sa Tuesday yon. Ang gagamitin natin modality ay isang Kadiwa ng Pangulo kasi we want to show that this is a full spectrum of farm-to-table,” the DSWD chief added.
The Food STAMP Program will be piloted on Tuesday (July 18) in Tondo, Manila.
Through the Food STAMP Program, beneficiaries can buy selected nutritious foods in accredited ‘farmers-driven stores’ and other merchants.
The program will help local farmers and fisherfolks to have a platform to sell their agricultural products, while also addressing the hunger problem in the country.
Gatchalian also emphasized that the Food Stamp Program which aims to address involuntary hunger, malnutrition, and stunting among Filipinos, is not a temporary solution to end hunger.
One of the key features of the Food STAMP Program is job generation. Beneficiaries of the program will be required to attend capacity building and development training as well as become part of the labor workforce.
“You may look at at the Food STAMP [Program] as a temporary solution… Kung ang energy nila ay mababa, hindi sila makapagtrabaho. Ang goal nga natin dito ay tulungan silang makabwelo sa tatlo o apat na taon na bahagi sila ng programa, makakain ng tama para makahanap sila ng sapat na energy to be part of nation building,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
Meanwhile , the DSWD Bicol Regional Office has started distributing cash aid to families affected by the Mayon volcano eruption in the province of Albay.
The cash aid under the emergency cash transfer (ECT) program is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian to provide financial assistance to all families affected within and outside the evacuation areas in Albay province.
Bicol Regional Director Norman Laurio reported that the distribution of ECTs will be from July 14 to July 16.
Among the beneficiaries of the ECT are the 5,770 families in various Mayon-affected areas that include the municipalities of Ligao, Guinobatan, Daraga, Camalig, Santo Domingo, and Malilipot as well as the City of Tabaco.
Laurio said the simultaneous payouts on Friday were in the municipalities of Ligao and Guinobatan with 951 families as total target beneficiaries.
“Only 852 families were served today, while the remaining 99 families have yet to complete their lacking requirements and to correct some discrepancies in their identification cards,” Laurio told Gatchalian.
Personnel of the Bicol Regional Office have already coordinated with the local chief executives, as well as with the municipal and city Social Welfare and Development Officers (SWDOs) of the affected LGUs, to discuss the ECT distribution and ensure the seamless implementation of the program.
