DSWD Announces Expansion of Food Stamp Program Targeting 300,000 More Households by July 2024

QUEZON CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has announced plans to expand its food stamp program (FSP) to include 300,000 more food-poor Filipino households by July 2024. Speaking at the Saturday News Forum, DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay revealed that the pilot phase of the program, called ‘Walang Gutom 2027,’ will conclude in May 2024. Following a review in June, the program is set for a full roll-out in July of the same year.

According to News Releases by Philippines News Agency, According to Undersecretary Punay, the FSP aims to reach one million households nationwide. “When we scale up next year, there will be 300,000 household beneficiaries,” he stated. The initiative received a significant boost after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 44, establishing the FSP as a flagship program of the administration. Under this order, the program is set to receive a working budget from the General Appropriations Act, projected to be PHP6 billion to cover the 300,000 additional beneficiaries for the next year.

“We’ve already met with the Department of Budget and Management, and they committed to provide for the financial budgetary requirement of the program,” Punay said. The FSP will provide each beneficiary family with an electronic benefit transfer card loaded with PHP3,000 in food credits. These credits can be used to purchase a selection of commodities from DSWD-accredited local retailers.

The targeted beneficiaries for the program are Filipino families considered ‘food-poor,’ or those in the lowest income bracket with a monthly income below PHP8,000. The DSWD initially tested the program among 100 households in Tondo, Manila, and Dapa, Siargao, beginning in July of this year. The full-scale pilot is scheduled to commence in December and is funded by a USD3 million grant (approximately PHP163 million) from the Asian Development Bank.