ILOILO City – A total of 14,193 low-income families from Iloilo and Antique have been validated as qualified beneficiaries for the Walang Gutom Program (WGP), which provides food assistance worth P3,000 monthly.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6 reported that 10,406 families from Iloilo and 3,787 from Antique will receive the assistance, which will be loaded onto Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
The program aims to disburse P42.57 million in food credits as part of the Period 12 Food Redemption activities this January.
The implementation of the WGP in Iloilo and Antique follows a recent announcement by DSWD-6 director Arwin Razo regarding the extension of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) to these provinces. The extension is meant to address the shortfall in the beneficiary target of 43,021 households in Negros Occidental.
As of November 2024, only 17,389 out of 28,124 targeted beneficiaries in Negros Occidental had undergone the rigorous validation process. To meet the regional allocation, 10,560 beneficiaries were added from Iloilo, and 4,337 from Antique.
Simultaneously, the WGP Regional Program Management Office is conducting pre-redemption activities in Iloilo and Antique. These include orientations for local government units (LGUs) and retailers, finalizing schedules, and accrediting retailers to ensure the program’s successful rollout.
The Walang Gutom Program is a flagship government initiative to combat hunger among vulnerable families. Beneficiaries receive EBT cards that can be used to purchase food items from partner merchants such as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), supermarkets, and KADIWA stores.
Only food items recommended by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) may be purchased under the program.
The National Program Management Office (NPMO) oversees the streamlined implementation of the Walang Gutom Program, ensuring its goals and objectives are met./PN
