300K poor families now eating well as hunger incidence drops

The Philippine Star

June 2, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — With 300,000 former food-poor families now eating healthy meals, hunger incidence has significantly dropped among the beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Walang Gutom Program (WGP) – a clear indication that the Marcos administration’s anti-hunger campaign is on the right track based on a survey by the Social Weather Station (SWS).

Commissioned by Globe Telecom, the SWS field work was conducted on Oct. 7 to 18, 2024 and on Dec. 1 to 10, 2024. It covered a total of 3,991 respondents from 33 provinces across the country.

Among the DSWD’s Walang Gutom Program bene?ciaries, the share of households experiencing hunger dropped by 4.1 percentage points – from 48.7 percent in October 2024 to 44.6 percent in December.

“We are pleased to note this favorable result of the nationwide impact evaluation conducted by the SWS. This indicates that the impact of the WGP is indeed felt on the ground by no less than our beneficiaries. With this positive development, we will continue to develop ways to make the program more responsive to the needs of the beneficiaries,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said yesterday.

The SWS findings revealed that at the start of the anti-hunger program, nearly half of the enrolled households reported experiencing hunger. 

But as food aid interventions were implemented, hunger levels among beneficiaries showed a notable decline, particularly in regions such as Central-South composed of the provinces of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Cotabato City, Zamboanga del Norte, and Surigao del Norte.

In contrast, hunger prevalence among those not covered by the Walang Gutom Program increased over the same period by 6.1 points. 

Severe food insecurity, where families experience frequent disruptions in their food supply, remained a challenge. 

The Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program, commonly known as the Walang Gutom Program (WGP), has been in existence for nearly two years, with its pilot phase launched in July 2023. The program targets to free from hunger 750,000 food poor families by 2027.

Edwin Henelu, a garbage collector from Tondo, thanked President Marcos and the DSWD for looking after food-poor households to which his family is included.

“Malaking tulong po ito para sa pamilya ko, dahil naiibsan nito ang aming gutom at nakakakain na kami ng masusustansya,” Henelu, a beneficiary, said during the food redemption in Tondo, Manila where he used his Electronic Benefit Transfer card in purchasing healthy foods.