Some 48,261 families from four provinces in Eastern Visayas are listed as beneficiaries of the Walang Gutom 2027 or Food Stamp Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

DSWD Regional Director Grace Subong said on Tuesday beneficiaries of this program that will start in July came from 40 towns and three cities in Leyte province; 21 towns and one city in Eastern Samar province; 24 towns and two cities in Samar province; and 24 towns from Northern Samar province.

The majority of the target beneficiaries are from Leyte province with 23,312; followed by Samar with 12,258; Eastern Samar with 7,618; and Northern Samar with 5,073.

“We are now in the stage of validation all over the 115 LGUs (local government units) throughout the region, and at the end of the process, the card will be given to the beneficiary,” Subong said in an interview.

The DSWD established six validation sites in four provinces. They will also hold onsite validation.

Each family will receive PHP3,000 per month through an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card for three years.

The amount inside the card will be used for buying PHP1,500 for carbohydrates (50 percent), PHP900 for protein (30 percent), and PHP600 for fats, oil, and other dietary fibers (20 percent).

The card will be used by the beneficiaries at accredited or partner establishments of the DSWD, like KADIWA stores, community-based organizations, and retailers.

“Stores or establishments that seek partnership with the Food Stamp Program will have to approach the DSWD for us to assess them. If they have the capacity, they can always join and be part of our retailers,” Subong added.

The Food Stamp Program is a government initiative to achieve food security by addressing involuntary hunger experienced by low-income Filipino households and providing them better access to nutritious food through the use of an EBT card.

The program targets 300,000 households from 12 provinces in 10 regions of the country. (PNA)