DBP Pushes "Walang Gutom 2027" Program

The Department of Budget and Management has approved next year's budgetary requirement for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to support the expanded implementation of the "Walang Gutom 2027" program, a flagship initiative of the Marcos administration.

The pilot launch of the Walang Gutom 2027" Food Stamp Program (FSP) was held in Tondo, Manila. I Photo: DSWD

"Our projected budget for next year, for the second phase of our implementation because our pilot program will be ending, is for July's implementation. Our review will be in May and June. It will require a budget of six billion pesos next year," said DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay at a news forum in Quezon City.

"We have already met with the Department of Budget and Management, and they have committed to providing the necessary financial budget for the program. We're very pleased that this will be implemented next year, and we now have a working budget thanks to President's Executive Order No. 44," Punay said, referring to Executive Order No. 44, which established the "Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program."

Punay mentioned that the DSWD is currently in the pilot phase of the Food Stamp Program, scheduled to conclude by the middle of next year.

The agency's initial target comprises 3,000 families in five pilot sites, including households in Tondo in Manila, Dapa in Siargao, San Mariano in Isabela, Garchitorena in Camarines Sur, and Parang in Maguindanao.

"These were the sites identified in collaboration with our partner implementer, the UN World Food Programme. We're starting with 3,000 families, and this pilot phase is funded by a three-million grant from the Asian Development Bank," Punay added, stating that the DSWD intends to fully implement the program, targeting one million food-insecure households nationwide next year.

"When we scale up next year, there will be 300,000 household beneficiaries starting mid-next year. This is part of the President's declaration through EO 44, which includes budget provisions. We have institutionalized it, and we now have a budget in the General Appropriations Act," Punay explained.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued EO 44, institutionalizing the Food Stamp program, which is executed through a whole-of-government approach, with the DSWD as the lead agency.

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