MANILA, Philippines – Lumabas sa survey na mas maraming Pinoy ang nakararanas ng involuntary hunger o pagkagutom.
Dahil dito, talagang kinakailangan ang umiiral na Food Stamp Program (FSP) ng pamahalaan na nasa pilot phase na sa ilang lugar sa bansa.
Ayon kay Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez, sa findings sa second quarter 2023 Social Weather Station (SWS), “it only show that the Marcos administration is on the right track in implementing the FSP, with the DSWD as lead agency.”
Layon ng FSP na magbigay ng food augmentation sa 1 milyon pamilya mula sa Listahanan 3, na kabilang sa food poor criteria na tinukoy ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“The pilot implementation from July to December of 2023 will initially cover 3,000 families. The target beneficiaries are those families whose income does not go beyond PHP8,000 a month,” ani Lopez kasabay ng Friday Weekly Report.
Sa SWS survey kasi na ikinasa mula Hunyo 28 hanggang Hulyo 1, lumabas na 10.4% ng mga pamilyang Filipino ang nakararanas ng involuntary hunger ng isang beses sa nakalipas na tatlong buwan.
Tinukoy ng SWS ang involuntary hunger bilang
“being hungry and not having anything to eat” habang ang moderate hunger ay tumutukoy sa involuntarily hungry “only once” o “a few times” sa nakalipas na tatlong buwan habang ang severe hunger ay ang kondisyon kung saan ang isang tao ay palaging nakararanas nito.
Ang involuntary hunger sa National Capital Region ay tumaas ng 5 points, at tumaas ng dagdag na 2.6 points sa mga lugar malapit sa NCR, habang ang involuntary hunger rate sa Visayas ay hindi nagbago at bumaba naman ng 5.4 points sa Mindanao.
Ani Lopez, inaasahang makikinabang ang 1 milyong food-poor families sa “Walang Gutom 2027 Food Stamp program,” flagship program ng DSWD na magbibigay ng tulong para sa makakain ng mga pamilyang nakararanas ng involuntary hunger dahil sa kahirapan.
“The FSP involves providing cash-based assistance in the form of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that will be loaded with a specific cash amount for purchasing a select list of commodities from registered local retailers. This aims to empower the poor to let them choose what food they want to eat based on the list provided by DSWD,” ayon pa kay Lopez.
“The FSP beneficiaries will be given tap cards which will be loaded with food credits amounting to PHP3,000 a month. The tap cards could be used by the food-poor families to purchase a select list of food commodities from DSWD-accredited local retailers,” dagdag pa nito.
“The program will also be conditional and have a work component, which means that those who will sign up would be required to seek employment in order to continue receiving the FSP benefits.”
“DSWD hopes that through the Food Stamp Program, the country will be able to combat hunger and achieve food security towards the realization of a zero hunger Philippines,” pagtatapos niya. RNT/JGC
