Around 8,000 daycare children here would benefit from a supplementary feeding program (SFP) launched by the local government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6).

On Tuesday, DSWD-6 Regional Director Arwin Razo and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the program’s rollout starting June 2025.

The signing was witnessed by city SWD officer Teresa Gelogo, DSWD Assistant Regional Director for Operations Katherine Joy Lamprea, and Councilor Alan Zaldivar.

Under the agreement, the DSWD will allocate PHP22.83 million to the city government to provide daily meals to 7,611 children aged 3 to 5 over a 120-day period.

However, Treñas plans to extend the program to cover the entire 10-month daycare period, rather than limiting it to 120 days.

“The remaining two months they will only be in their house so they will not get hungry. But while they are in the center, we have to serve them,” she said.

The city government will also provide a counterpart fund of PHP17.16 million to saturate all the 8,000 projected daycare children.

“Supposed to be, we will serve the children within 200 days. Since DSWD will cover only 120, the remaining days will be shouldered by the city government,” she said.

Gelogo said they are waiting for the complete liquidation of last year’s budget for the DSWD to download the fund requirement for the 2025 to 2026 cycle.

She added they will also be returning to the national government the PHP43,000 excess out of the PHP25 million allotted for a similar program last year.

Razo, in his message during the agreement signing, said that hopefully, the fund could help in “addressing stunting” of kids. (PNA)