ILOILO City – As of March, a total of 43,697 households from “food poor families” in Western Visayas have benefited from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Walang Gutom Program (WGP).
The breakdown of beneficiaries includes 24,707 households from Negros Occidental, 15,428 from Iloilo, and 3,562 from Antique, according to Lovilla Mondana, information officer of the Walang Gutom Food Stamp Program.
Each household received food assistance through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, loaded with P3,000 per month.
These EBT cards allow beneficiaries to purchase local products, primarily food, from 214 accredited retailers in the region. In Negros Occidental, 146 retailers are participating, while Iloilo has 34 and Antique, 16.
WGP is a key government initiative designed to address hunger among vulnerable families. It provides monthly monetary assistance in the form of EBT cards, which can be used to purchase food items approved by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) from participating merchants, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), supermarkets, and KADIWA outlets.
When asked about the extension of benefits to other provinces, Mondana said have not yet received updates on the inclusion of Guimaras, Aklan, and Capiz.
“We are waiting for the list from the DSWD Central Office, as we are currently operating based on the information provided. However, we are hopeful that these provinces will be included soon, especially as the WGP expands its scope from the initial 300,000 beneficiaries to a target of 1 million nationwide,” Mondana said.
The creation of the Walang Gutom National Program Management Office (NPMO) aims to streamline and ensure the success of the program’s implementation, supporting the goal of eradicating hunger in the Philippines./PN
