Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian went to Tondo, Manila over the weekend to lead the distribution of the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to around 330 beneficiaries under the new batch of Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program.

The EBT cards are loaded with P3,000 food credits that the beneficiaries can use to purchase nutritious food items from Kadiwa ng Pangulo stalls during the redemption day.

"Itong programa na ito ay tugon doon sa pangako ng ating Pangulo an masigurado na walang Pilipino na nagugutom, (This program is a response to our President's promise to make sure that no Filipino goes hungry.)," Gatchalian explained.

"Bagamat pasimula lamang ito, tatakbo ito nang tuloy-tuloy. Ito ho ay hindi lang pamasko ng Pangulo kundi tugon sa kanyang pangako na by the time na matapos [ang kanyang termino] limang taon mula ngayon, dapat wala ng mahirap na Pilipino at dapat wala ng gutom na Pilipino, (Although this is just the beginning, the program will run continuously.
This is not just the President's Christmas treat but a response to his promise that [by the time he finishes his term] five years from now, there should be no poor Filipinos and there should be no hungry Filipinos.)" the DSWD Secretary pointed out.

Last Thursday (21 December), some 400 beneficiaries under the scale-up pilot implementation of the FSP in Tondo were able to purchase P3,000 worth of nutritious food items from Kadiwa ng Pangulo stalls.

Gatchalian said the new batch of beneficiaries is part of the target 3,000 pilot beneficiaries of the program.

"Remember sa pilot [implementation] natin, 3,000 [beneficiaries] lang ang paunang kasama muna. Kapag naging matagumpay ang programa, lalakihan natin to 300,000 all the way to one million na pamilya, (Remember in our pilot implementation, there are only 3,000 initial participants. If the program is successful, we will increase to 300,000 all the way to one million families.)" Gatchalian said.

Aside from Tondo, Manila, other pilot areas for the FSP include Siargao Island, San Mariano in Isabela, Garchitorena in Camarines Sur, and Parang in Maguindanao.

The pilot implementation for the new batch of FSP beneficiaries will run until May 2024.

The FSP provides its beneficiaries with access to monetary-based assistance and nutrition education to teach them how to prepare healthy and safe meals for their families. It also invites them to become productive citizens through skills training and participation in government-organized job fairs.