Walang Gutom Program beneficiaries can use EBT card to buy P20/kg rice — DSWD
According to Dano Tingcungco's Monday report on '24 Oras,' an EBT card is similar to a debit card loaded with P3,000 per month.
The card can be used to buy food included in DSWD's pre-identified food group from Kadiwa-accredited retailers.
The available food products can provide the required carbohydrates and proteins for a family's dietary needs.
'Restricted yung menu ng food stamps natin. Binibigyan natin ng kapangyarihang pumili ang mga pamilya. Alam natin sa carbohydrates may bigas at sweet potato. Samu't saring carbohydrates na pwede nilang pagpilian so may portion dun na napupunta sa bigas,' Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.
(Our food stamp menu is restricted. We give families the power to choose. We know that carbohydrates include rice and sweet potatoes. They have a variety of carbohydrates to choose from, so a portion of that goes to rice.)
The WGP beneficiaries are guided in choosing the food they will purchase. A receipt will be handed out to them after they check out at a kiosk.
The beneficiaries do not need to max out the P3,000 credit, but it's better to maximize the amount since it aims to address zero hunger.
The DSWD said beneficiaries cannot also ask for an advance credit and will have to wait for another month before the balance in the card is topped up.
Minimum wage earners can also buy the P20 kilo rice even without the EBT. For now, 10 kilos of rice can be bought per person, but the government aims to have an additional kilo in the next months.
It is being implemented with the coordination of their employers.
DSWD said about 120,000 minimum wage earners are benefiting from the P20 kilo rice program, but the government aims to have one million beneficiaries before the year ends.
Meanwhile, at least 300,000 Walang Gutom Program beneficiaries are benefiting from the P20 kilo rice program. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
3 hours ago
- GMA Network
GMA Kapuso Foundation brings aid to typhoon, flood victims in Pampanga, Zambales, more
The GMA Kapuso Foundation continued to bring relief assistance to thousands of families in different parts of the country who have been affected by the back-to-back typhoons and tropical storms recently. According to "24 Oras" on Friday, the Kapuso Foundation and the 701st Brigade of the Philippine Army brought relief goods and soap to over 1,800 families in Macabebe, Pampanga, with the Office of Civil Defense lending a truck to the team for the mercy mission. "Kung magtutuloy-tuloy po 'yung ganitong sama ng panahon at ang taas ng high tide, tingin po namin magtatagal pa," said Kenneth Chase Balingit of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Macabebe, Pampanga. The GMA Kapuso Foundation and the 11th Civil-Military Operations Battalion of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment also made their way to Santa Cruz, Zambales, to bring aid to a total of 500 families who had to evacuate due to the heavy rains. Relief goods and warm porridge were also provided to farmers in Benguet who lost their crops and were affected by the landslides. On Friday morning, GMA Kapuso Foundation brought more relief assistance to a total of 1,500 families in North and East Fairview in Quezon City, as well as 1,000 families in Dinalupihan and Hermosa, Bataan. Relief operations for calamity victims will continue in Central Luzon, with plans to also bring aid to Pangasinan, La Union, and other parts of Pampanga and Bulacan. Previously, the GMA Kapuso Foundation also brought aid to residents in Rizal, Bulacan, Valenzuela City, and Quezon City. For those who wish to support GMA Kapuso Foundation's projects, donations may be made via Metrobank, Land Bank, BDO, Bank of Commerce, UnionBank, PNB, Cebuana Lhuillier, GCash, Lazada, and Shopee. Visit the GMA Kapuso Foundation website for more information. At the pre-GMA Gala 2025 on Thursday, GMA Network donated a total of P2.5 million to the GMA Kapuso Foundation. According to GMA Kapuso Foundation Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rikki Escudero-Catibog, the foundation will utilize the funds raised at the pre-gala dinner and the gala night itself on August 2 for relief operations to help those who have been affected by the typhoons and the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat). Heavy rains have battered different parts of the country for more than a week now due to Tropical Cyclones Crising, Dante, Emong, and the Habagat. The reported death toll due to the inclement weather has increased to 25, per the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Friday morning. Emong, which has weakened into a tropical storm on Friday, continues to move away from Batanes, according to state weather bureau PAGASA in its 7 p.m. bulletin. Signal No. 1 remains hoisted over three areas, namely Batanes, babuyan Islands, and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan (Santa Ana). Emong is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Saturday mrning. —CDC, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
10 hours ago
- GMA Network
P20/kilo rice, farm to market roads remain work in progress
In his 2024 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the hardships confronting the Filipinos due to the rising prices of food. "The hard lesson of this last year has made it very clear that whatever current data proudly bannering our country as among the best-performing in Asia, means nothing to a Filipino, who is confronted by the price of rice at 45 to 65 pesos per kilo," Marcos had said in his report to the nation last year. Back then, the price of rice per kilo was far from the P20 per kilo he had promised the Filipinos when he campaigned for the presidency in 2022. But the efforts of Marcos, who sat as Agriculture secretary from July 2022 to November 2023, could not be ignored to achieve his P20 per kilo rice goal. The government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), has been consistently opening Kadiwa stores that sell rice at P20 per kilo. Marcos also vowed to prioritize enhancing local production to address the high food cost and build the necessary infrastructure to prop up agricultural productivity and assist farmers. He had said in his SONA that a total of 1,200 kilometers of farm-to-market roads all over the country will be completed. Further, Marcos said over 9,300 farm equipment would be distributed and more than 80,000 hectares of land would be irrigated. The projects remain in the works. In his visit to Balingasag, Misamis Oriental in April 2025, Marcos reported that in Region X (Northern Mindanao), the government was able to construct almost 70 kilometers of farm-to-market roads. "Sa buong bansa, umabot na sa 1,162 kilometro ang naitayo nating mga daan, at higit 865 linyang-metro naman ng tulay," he said. Since his presidency, Marcos said 36,000 pieces of machinery and agricultural equipment had been distributed to farmers' cooperatives and associations for post-harvest. While under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, 12,000 pieces of machinery and equipment had been provided from July 2022 up to March 2025. A month before Marcos' fourth State of the Nation Address, the Economy and Development (ED) Council, formerly known as the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) Board, approved the P27.7-billion Farm-to-Market Bridges Development Program of the Department of Agriculture. Under the program, the DA said it aims for the construction of 300 climate-resilient modular steel bridges across 52 provinces in 15 regions. 'By improving physical connectivity in farming and fishing communities, the Farm-to-Market Bridges Development Program addresses persistent infrastructure gaps that limit market access, increase post-harvest losses, and hinder rural productivity," said ED Council vice chairperson and Economics Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. "It also aims to uplift rural incomes and improve food logistics, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,' Balisacan added. The Agriculture Department also reported that it had completed over 450 agri-infrastructure projects, including farm-to-market roads, fish ports, and food storage facilities. Further, agriculture insurance now protects more than 1.3 million farmers, livestock raisers, and fishers. 'Through the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program, aligned yields have improved from 3.3 to 4.2 metric pounds per hectare, with the first quarter yields again at 4.09 metric pounds. We are also expanding value-chain innovation,' said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel in a speech, as delivered by Agriculture Director Karen Roscom in a summit in Manila. Benefits A number of farmers expressed relief with the administration's efforts, saying that farm-to-market roads are a long-awaited solution. 'Mahalaga para sana may madaanan kami at mayroon kaming mapagbiladan ng palay namin,' said Robert Lopez, a rice farmer in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, in a report by GMA Regional TV. (It is vital so that we can have paved roads for our goods and an area for drying palay.) Approved by the DA, the local government in Mangaldan and the barangay, a farm-to-market road is set to connect Barangays Guilig, Malabago, and Bari. Initial groundwork, such as soil filling, has already begun. Guilig Councilman Louie Prestoza said the project, which is estimated to reach P3 million, will make it more convenient for farmers to transport their goods and will serve as an alternate route for public and private vehicles in the area. 'Hindi lang kami dito ang mabebenepisyuhan. Marami, kahit na taga-ibang lugar,' Prestoza said. (It is not just us here who will benefit. Many more residents, even from other places.) P20 per kilo of rice Marcos' campaign promise of P20 per kilo of rice has been initially implemented in the Visayas region, and is set to be rolled out across the country in the coming months. The second phase of the program commenced this July in the Mindanao region. Marcos said it took time for him to fulfill his promise because the government needs to assist the local farmers first, including the provision of machinery. The P20 per kilo rice initiative under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program only allows members of vulnerable sectors—including indigents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents to buy NFA rice at P20 per kilogram. Moreover, it can also be availed by minimum wage earners. Marcos expressed confidence that his administration could sustain its implementation. Increasing prices of goods With the price of some goods increasing, Marcos said the government is also monitoring "price gouging" in the consumer market. "Iyon lamang binabantayan natin ngayon 'yung price gouging. Dahil ang dami ko nang nakita nagtataas ng presyo, hindi naman tumaas ang presyo ng langis. So, iyon ang babantayan natin ngayon. That's what we are going to watch," he said. (We're monitoring the price gouging. Because I've seen a lot of price hikes even though fuel prices have not increased. So that's what we will monitor right now. That's what we are going to watch.) Farmers However, the progressive group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said that farmers and fisherfolk remain waiting for the fulfilment of the President's SONA promises. KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos lamented that majority of the Filipino farmers do not own the land they till, and continue to lose it due to land conversion. He also said the people in other areas of the country await the affordable rice promised by Marcos. Ramos said they also continue to long for the day when the country would be rice self-sufficient and would no longer need to buy imported rice.—LDF/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
13-07-2025
- GMA Network
DSWD distributes smartphones to 256 4Ps beneficiaries in Palawan
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), with Globe and GCash, distributed smartphones to 256 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in the southern towns of Bataraza and Brooke's Point in Palawan. In a statement Sunday, DSWD said the distribution of refurbished smartphones is under the Pre-loved Phone Donation Drive, in partnership with the private sector. It is a part of the agency's 'E-Panalo ang Kinabukasan' campaign, which aims to bring digital financial literacy and tools to 4Ps families, especially those in far-flung areas. With smartphones, 4Ps beneficiaries can receive their cash grants through digital banking as well as use it for online learning and digital businesses. 'Our aim is to bring government services closer to where people are,' said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian. 'With digital tools in hand, families no longer need to walk long distances just to access their cash grants. That alone can change lives,' he added. During the distribution of smartphones, the 4Ps beneficiaries also engaged in financial literacy sessions. For Carl Cruz, Globe President and CEO the initiative is about inclusion and access to opportunity: 'We hope these devices would help families not only receive their cash grants easily, but also for them to get the various opportunities to uplift their lives that technology makes possible.' 'This is more than just onboarding users, it is about financial inclusion and making sure no one gets left behind in the digital economy. Beneficiaries can receive their GCash directly and efficiently and they also gain access to digital financial services to support their daily needs.' said Oscar Enrico Reyes Jr., President and CEO of G-Xchange Inc., the mobile wallet operator of GCash. DSWD has also distributed smartphones in Navotas and Romblon. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News
