The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has expanded the implementation of its anti-poverty initiative, the Walang Gutom or Food Stamp Program, with the inclusion of 15 local government units (LGUs) in Antique and Capiz provinces this year.
The expansion covered one island municipality in Antique and 14 in Capiz, while it is being sustained in 35 LGUs in Iloilo.
“Previously, we already have Antique and Iloilo, and we have additional beneficiaries who were already verified. We have 14,340 targets for verification, and 11,353 were already verified,” Therese Fely Legaste, DSWD regional information officer, said in an interview on Wednesday.
The verified beneficiaries included 2,194 from Antique, 6,737 from Iloilo and 2,393 from Capiz.
The expansion covered Roxas City and the municipalities of Dumalag, Dumarao, Jamindan, Maayon, Mambusao, Pilar, Pontevedra, President Roxas, Sapian, Tapaz, Ivisan and Panay.
In Antique, it was expanded to the island municipality of Caluya.
Households that are enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program are excluded from the initiative.
DSWD Western Visayas Regional Director Joselito Estember, in a media forum on Tuesday, said that they already started with the redemption last week and is now ongoing in the provinces of Capiz and Antique.
“DSWD has a verification mechanism to ensure that there is no duplication of recipients,” Estember said.
He said the list came from the DSWD Central Office and was chosen from the data that were captured in the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Beneficiaries are provided with PHP3,000 worth of monthly food credits via Electronic Benefit Transfer cards.
They can use the credits to purchase essential food items such as carbohydrates, protein sources, and fiber-rich products from accredited retailers to help ensure adequate and nutritious food intake.
The national project management office approves the application of retailers who want to supply the food items for beneficiaries.
The national office also sets the price per region.
The DSWD will invite the Department of Trade and Industry this year for the monitoring to ensure the products are enough for the PHP3,000 allotment per beneficiary.
To pre-empt overpricing and ensure quality, there is a staff on the ground who conducts the market survey. The result of the survey is forwarded to the retail management officer for approval.
In 2025, the initiative served 42,563 beneficiaries in Western Visayas, including Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Antique. (PNA)