The government has begun integrating the sale of ₱20-per-kilogram rice into the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to enhance food access for impoverished families, Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced Tuesday.
This initiative supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive for inter-agency coordination and aims to maximize the food credits distributed under the WGP.
In collaboration with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., DSWD will roll out the rice supply to about 1,000 accredited retailers, including Kadiwa outlets and small agri-cooperatives where WGP beneficiaries already redeem food credits.
“Bibigyan sila ng supply ng bente pesos na bigas para ‘yung credits nila, mas marami silang mabili,” Gatchalian explained, emphasizing how the affordable rice will stretch the beneficiaries’ monthly food budgets.
The WGP, launched in July 2023 through Executive Order 44, targets to uplift 750,000 food-poor families by 2027 with monthly food credits and nutrition education.
The ₱20 rice initiative—Benteng Bigas Meron Na!—delivered through the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority, fulfills the President’s campaign promise of making rice more affordable.
Recent SWS survey data, commissioned by Globe Telecom, showed a notable drop in hunger incidence among WGP recipients—from 48.7% in October 2024 to 44.6% in December 2024—even as hunger among non-beneficiaries rose by 6.1 percentage points during the same period.
Improvements were most pronounced in areas like Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cotabato City, Zamboanga del Norte, and Surigao del Norte.
While severe food insecurity persists, the study found that it rose slower among WGP beneficiaries, reflecting the program’s growing impact.