FOOD STAMP PROGRAM FOR THE POOREST FAMILIES IN THE PHILIPPINES
3,000 pesos food stamps per family every month (Photo courtesy of KJ Rosales/Philippine Star)
The bill for the food stamp program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has passed the House committee, but before that, the lawmakers questioned the P3,000 given to each family under the program. They think it's not enough because the price of goods is already expensive.
In the hearing of the House committee on social services, the proposal to distribute P3,000 food stamps to the poorest families in the country was passed. This is a DSWD program to address the problem of the increasing number of hungry Filipinos.
It turns out that the budget of each family is P15 per meal so the legislators asked if this would be enough. Some legislators called to increase the given budget and make it P5,000 to be realistic for each family.
The committee chairman responded by letting it go through the house budget or appropriations committee first. The DSWD, on the other hand, pushed to put the P3,000 in the bill that was not finalized, hoping to allow the inter-agency committee to set the amount for the program.
So far about 3,000 beneficiaries have been given food stamps in the pilot implementation of the program. They were given an electronic benefits transfer or EBT card with only P3,000. It can be used to buy food at designated redemption areas or accredited retailers.
The problem according to the DSWD is that the approved funds for the food stamps program under the General Appropriations Act is only 1.89 billion pesos. They say it will only be enough for 100,000 beneficiaries, far away from their target of 300,000 beneficiaries this year.
The DSWD requested that the funds of the food stamps program be increased, according to the agency, the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) would not be among its beneficiaries.
The committee's target is to pass the bill for the food stamps program before the Sine Die Adjournment of congress this May.
Source: Emmanuel Tupas/Philippine Star
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