(Eagle News)–The Department of Social Welfare and Development will kick off the nationwide implementation of the Food Stamp Program in July, six months after its successful pilot-testing in just parts of the country.
DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay said preparations for the full implementation of the initiative have begun.
“This month po magsisimula na iyong validation at ating registration ng 300,000 beneficiaries para sa July na rin po natin,” he said.
He said also this month, 1000 validators in the implementation sites, or 21 provinces in 10 regions and 12 provinces identified by the department as priority areas, have also already been hired.
Punay said next month, they are also set to conduct a full review and assessment of the results of their six-month program pilot testing, which began in December.
The assessment will determine the impact of the pilot program on selected 3,000 beneficiaries.
Punay said the initial assessment conducted from February to March already yielded positive results.
The “Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program” was established by virtue of Executive Order No. 44 issued by President Bongbong Marcos.
The program aims to reduce the incidence of voluntary hunger experienced by low-income households through monetary-based assistance distributed via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
The assistance can be used for the purchase of food commodities from eligible partner merchant stores.
