Government to expand Walang Gutom Program

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development is looking at increasing the current P3,000 monthly food credits provided to beneficiaries of the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) as part of the agency’s continued efforts to combat hunger and food insecurity in the country.

DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said the agency is currently assessing the implementation of the WGP to determine whether the amount and frequency of the food credit top-ups remain adequate for beneficiary households.

“We have partners who are studying the amount that beneficiaries receive and the frequency of availment of food credits,” Dumlao said at a press briefing in Malacañang yesterday.

She made the response when asked to comment on the rising hunger incidence in the country based on the latest Social Weather Stations survey.

The SWS poll, released on Sunday, showed an estimated 14.4 million or 52 percent of Filipino families who rated themselves as poor, while 27.2 percent said they experienced involuntary hunger in the period of three months.

The survey, taken from March 15 to 30, also revealed that hunger rose among poor families, from 31.5 percent in December to 35.6 percent in March.

“We recognize that there are varying concepts implemented through questionnaires, or the way questions were asked. PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) uses scientific indicators like annual family income and expenditures, while SWS asks for individual perception, for a short period usually a quarter,” Dumlao said.

The WGP, the government’s flagship anti-hunger program, is currently benefiting 300,000 food-poor households across the country, according to Dumlao.

She said the agency targets to assist 750,000 food-poor families by 2027, anchored on President Marcos’ vision of achieving a hunger-free Philippines before his term ends in 2028.

The DSWD spokesperson said the agency is also eyeing the expansion of the Walang Gutom Kitchen, which complements the WGP and other anti-hunger initiatives of the government in areas like the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“We are expecting this to be finalized this April – what additional recommendations we will consider to scale up Walang Gutom Kitchen,” she said.

The DSWD official said the government is on track in its goal of attaining single-digit poverty incidence by 2028.