The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has included the “Walang Gutom” food stamp vouchers in all Kadiwa ng Pangulo Centers nationwide, allowing beneficiaries to use their food credits to buy rice at P20 per kilo.
In a Palace briefing on Tuesday, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the initiative is now being coordinated with the Department of Agriculture (DA), following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive.
“It was the President’s order that no department should act independently without coordinating with others,” Gatchalian said.
“Just yesterday afternoon, I spoke with Agriculture Secretary Francis Laurel, and we’re now obtaining the list of accredited retailers—these are the Kadiwa ng Pangulo outlets and small agricultural cooperatives where our food-poor beneficiaries redeem their food stamps.”
He assured that recipients of the "Walang Gutom" program will have access to sufficient supplies of P20 rice through their food credits.
“We’ve already started giving the list to the DA, and they are now ensuring that around 1,000 Walang Gutom rice retailers will receive affordable rice to distribute to deserving food-poor beneficiaries,” Gatchalian added.
The “Walang Gutom 2027” program, launched in July 2023, aims to uplift around 750,000 food-poor families by providing monthly food credits that can be redeemed at partner retailers. It also includes nutritional education to promote healthier food choices.
The ₱20-per-kilo rice program, meanwhile, is a flagship initiative of the DA and its attached agency, the National Food Authority (NFA), fulfilling one of President Marcos Jr.'s campaign promises to make rice more affordable to the public.